YUJI UEKI | Architecture Portfolio at University of Tokyo

YUJI UEKI ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO SELECTED WORKS 2018-2020

YUJI UEKI

植木祐地

1994.12.7 Born in Gifu, Japan

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2013.04 - 2019.03 University of Tokyo Department of Architecture 2019.03 - 2021.03 University of Tokyo Graduate School of Enginerring, Department of Architecture

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OS: Mac OS X /Microsoft Windows CAD: Rhinoceros Graphics: Adobe CC(Illustrator, Phoshop, Indesign) Rendering: Vray for Rhino Modering: Rhinoceros, Grasshopper Languages: Japanese(native) , English(colloquial)

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2019.03 Incentive award for Diploma project in the depertment of Architecture.

2019.03 Dean's Award of the facility of Engineering (The first-class honors degree in the department).

2019.10 Special Prize and Two Jury Prizes in the "Design Competition for Tea-ceremony room at Ginza".

2019.11 Second Prize in the "ERI Architecture Design Competition".

2019.11 Honorble Mention in the "Asia Young Designer Award 2019".

2019.12 Honorble Mention in the "Haseko-corporarion Residensial Design competition 2019".

2020.02 Honorble Mention in the "Temporary Fence Design contest".

2020.03 Honorble Mention in the "URBAN PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN COMPETITION 2019".

2020.03 Finalist for the "Design Competition for Tea-ceremony room at Kanagawa Architectural Festival 2020".

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2017.08 - 2017.09 MOUNT FUJI ARCHITECTS STUDIO, Japan 2019.03 CHIBA MANABU ARCHITECTS, Japan

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2019.09 - 2019.10 "RE-ENVISIONING TOKYO Yamanote-Line" Joint Workshop with University of Southern California & Sapienza Universita di Roma

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personal statement We have to build architecture on top of the world we already live. But now the basement itseif is rapidly changing.

In such a world, I do not want to fix my own image of what architecture should be.

Rather, I would like to think about how architecture should be in harmony with the changing society or the elements the architecture haven`t have relationwhip with before.

However, this does not mean that I will allow architecture to become impersonal in the world.

There is a possibility that a new architecture will be born in a relationship with others that has never been imagined.

I want to continue to think about architecture in the context of such unseen others.

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C O NTE NTS

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01 02 03 04 05 KICHIJOJI LIVING

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SOIL SCRAPER

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UNDER THE RAIN

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BAMBOO KNITTING

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OT H E R W O R KS

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01 K I C H I J O J I L I V I N G 2019 Bachelor Diploma Design Site; Kichijoji station, Japan Award; Incentive award of the department Indivisual Work

One of the biggest boundary in urban city is the railway. It's because the rail separate both side of city, and in Japan we need pass by the gate to ride. From this point, the gate separate inside and outside clearly.

But What if the gates disappear ?

Long time ago, station employee cut the tickets bu hand, and now we can use electronic device to pay money very easily. So I anticipate that we will be able to pay only having smartphone in the future. Based on this background, I assume that the station gate has disappeared in this project.

This project aims to design the new type of station in the future with the development of technology. Now such technologies is changing our system of society so rapidly, and we have to consider how architecture can be connected to them. Choosing Kichijoji city as the site, I seek the new typology of future station.

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The Opening of railroad in Japan

The Opening o monora

Yamanote-Line begins circular operation

The first streetcar in KYOTO 15M

The Opening of Bullet-train in Japan

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5M

1M

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THE HISTORY OF R

KICHIJOJI

commercial area

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SINJUKU

SIBUYA

residencial area

MOBILIT Y

COMMERCIAL/RESIDENCIAL AREA

Kichijoji city, the site of this project is in the west of Tokyo, and the cross point of two main railroad.

Kichijoji is popular city in Tokyo because of its mixture of commercial and residential area, and large shopping street. It can be said that the attraction of Kichijoji city comes from the diversity of quality of each space.

SITE

STORES AND SHOPPING ST REET

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JAPANESE PUB

But at the same time, the rail road running from East to West divides the city .

The use of prepaod card had started

of ail

The development of ticket system using smart devices

The Renovation of ToKYO station

The Opening of Linear motor train

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R AILWAY IN JAPAN

SITE MAP OF KICHIJOJI CIT Y

Kichijoji city consists of many different kind of roads in small area, Kichijoji station is at the center of city.

The staion has to work as the core of the whole town, and interweave these attractive roads.

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1/50 scale Physical Model

1.Present Condition

2.Extend Road for Public Transport

Existing buildings surround the station.

Seamless transfers will be possible, and the current bus route will become a new plaza for pedestrians.

3.Exsisting Buidings become the station wall

4.Making New Platform with old Buidings

Create new characteristic of both side

Extending the platform toward exsisting buildings

BLEND THE STATION INTO THE CIT Y

In its current state, the station is separated from the surrounding buildings and exists independently of the existing city. In order to change this situation, I propose to make the station from elements of the city itself, while minimizing new construction.

The station will become part of the public transportation system, and the surrounding buildings will become part of the Platform.

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North-South section

East-west section

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1. Platform Plaza 2. Shop 3. Restaurant 4. Kindergarten

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5. Japanese Pub 6. Hotel 7. Gallery 8. Bar

Platform Level plan

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1. Gallery 2. Restaurant 3. Workshop

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4. Japanese Pub 5. Bar

Second floor plan

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4. Street Plaza 5. Bicycle parking 6. Bus Stop

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Ground floor plan

SPACES CORRESPONDING WITH SURROUNDING CIT Y

New plaza on the Road

Combine Bus stop and sho

Restaurant on the platform

Ground Level

Ground Level

Platform Level

New balcony for Restaurants

Garden on the platform

Hoteo above the railroad

Second floor Level

Platform Level

Forth floor Level

Originally, the surrounding towns and miscellaneous buildings were complex and diverse.

By designing each part of the station to make maximum use of them, the attractiveness of both the station and the city will be enhanced.

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By connecting around buildings and the station, people can get more freedom in route selection, and the station isn`t the barrier of Kichijoji city any more.

And expanding the platform toward surroundings makes it large public space not only the place for waiting.

Route selection for people

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Expansion of Platform

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Currently, the station exists as a huge void with no one using it after the last train.

By integrating the station with the existing buildings, the previously unused station space at night can be used as a gallery, workshop, bar, or other town-specific uses.

At night, the station changes to studio for artists.

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PERSPECTIVE FR 21

ROM PL ATFORM 22

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02 SOIL SCRAPER 2019 Summer Architecture studio ”Uneveness of Environment” Instructor; Manabu Chiba Site; West-Shinjuku,Japan Indivisual Work

T he popu lation i n Tokyo is sti l l g rowi ng, a nd more people need to come together to live in the city. On the other hand, it is also t r ue t hat people a re begi n ni ng to feel t he limits of traditional buildings with stacked f loors due to the recent COVID-19 situation.

Howeve r, t h e u s e of p s e u do - n a t u r a l a nd environmental ideas to change the current situation can only be a temporary solution. We need to think about architecture from a deeper perspective.

This project is dealing with a new connection between people and nature by incorporating soil that is connected to the earth into a skyscraper.

The soil is not only for growing greenery, but also for being an intermediary between human beings and nature, related to everything that surrounds us. Incorporating soil into architecture presents us with a way of living that embraces and coexists with the unevenness of nature, rather than managing it for the sake of humans.

This shows a new building type, which is, "Soil Scraper"

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100m

50m

10m

Site Wooden-houses Highrises area area

Shinjuku sta.

RE-ENVISION OF THE HIGH-RISE

The site for this project is Nishi-Shinjuku area, placed in the center of Tokyo.

In the west of Shinjuku station, high-rises are line with as office buildings.

On the other side, wooden-small houses are spreading at the edge of the area.

In this situation, this project aims to redefine how the high-rise building is builtcorresponding with the surroundings.

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REVIVAL OF THE SOIL

In ancient period, our life have had deep relationship with the soil. It is connecting with every aspects of our daily life, and we owe immense benefits to the soil. But recently, the waste of soil from construction site is one of the biggest problem in architecture filed.

This project proposes for regaining interaction with the soil through an architecture containing it.

At the same time, this architecture leads the reduce of the damage against the environment on Earth.

soil(9%) Architecture Related(20.9%)

Architecture related waste

The amount of waste in Japan

1.Present Condition Now this site is a area which small wood-houses are gathering, but a high-rise is planning to be built.

3.Split soil legs To get more benefits from soil, split the soil legs and increase the surface area of soil.

2.Rising the soil from the ground By rising soil from the ground, connecting soil through the whole building.

4.Structure surronnding the soil Build the structure for residence following the shape of soil.

CONCEPTUAL DIAGR AM OF SOIL SCR APER

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LIVING WITH UNEVENESS CREATED BY THE SOIL

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This soil scraper uses the charactor of the soil as a triger for people live upon the uneveness of environment.

Soil retains heat very well, and the further it is from the atmosphere, the more the temperature remains constant at about 15 degrees Celsius.

On the other hand, the higher you go up in the sky, the lower the air temperature becomes a nd the stronger the wind becomes.

By combining these characteristics of soil and wind, it is possible to create different environments within a single building, rather than completely controlling the environment.

Dec.

Temperature in the soil in differnt seasons

Bird`s eye perspective

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MULTI-ROLES OF THE SOIL SCR APER

The soil plays several roles in this architecture. By keeping its temperature, the soil give people the warm space even if it`s in higher place.

Also it creates new circulation of nature through growing trees, purifying water, becoming the house of animals

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GL+400m

GL+300m

GL+200m

GL+100m

Section Drawing

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GL+300m plan Cold wind + Warm soil + Garden

GL+200m plan Dry wind + Warm soil + Water

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40M

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GL+20m plan Humid wind + Cold soil + Garden

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Cold wind blows through small structure

The inside condition changes with the moisture of soil

The wind warmed by the soil blows from holes

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PERSPECTIVE OF IN

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NTERMEDIATE LEVEL

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03 UNDER THE RAIN Haseko-corporarion Residensial Design competition 2019 "Multi-generational and multinational housing complexes" Team; Tomohisa Kawase Site; Japan Award; Honable Mention

Goethe said, "It is all right for a man to dance in the rain without an umbrella. That is freedom."

[Rai n] - si nce a ncient ti mes, people have h ad va r iou s t hought s a bout it a nd h ave developed a relationship with their bodies.

If the place people live is different, the climate is also different, and the way how they feel toward the rain, either.

In Japan, there are a lot of words to express the state of the rain. These various expressions of rain are put into various onomatopoeias and we translate it into architectural form.

This architecture generates ma ny kind of water f low. A nd people's actions brought out by the various forms of rain will serve as a n opportunit y to connect Multige n e r a t ion a l a nd m u lt i n a t ion a l p e o ple .

This is a residence which makes you want to go outside on a rainy day.

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1. 黒雨 2. 夕立 3. 霧雨 4. 紅雨 5. 緑雨

Site Plan & Various names for rain in Japan

Isometric view

The site is supposed to be a suburban, residential area, and a river is running next to it.

Each residential volume are divided into a small unit so that the whole building fits in with its surroundings and the in-between space generates various small water flow.

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INSIDE/OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE

Inside and outside share the experience through the Five Senses.

They are not separated in this residence.

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ひたひた ぽたぽた たらたら さらさら べとべと ぽとぽと びちょびちょ ざーざー ぷくぷく ぺたぺた ちょろちょろ びちゃびちゃ しとしと

GENER ATE FORMS FROM JAPANESE ONOMATOPOEIA OF R AIN

Picking up 13-Japanese Onomatopoeia showing the state of rain & water,each unit is designed to create water movement associated with those onomatopoeia. For example, Unit No.2 is related to the sound of water hitting the ground and the state of quiet water flow.

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Elevation

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5M

Section drawing

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Plans

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Residential Volume

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Rain runs down different direction along sloped roofs and gouged walls.

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The area cut off by the rain becomes a space of rest for each person.

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Flowing rain tells us the connection with other place, other people

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After the rain, the trace of water leaves different space with ordinary.

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04 BAMBOO KNIT TING Competition 2019.5-2019.10 Team; Hiroki Awaji, Yuta Shimoda(Design) Friends of ours(Construction) Award; Honorble Mention and Two Jury Prizes Site; Ginza, Japan

This project is making 1/1-scale mock-up pavilion of a Japanese tearoom with a long history that we reinterpreted under the theme of "Yui"(means connection of various elements in Japanese).

With the final goal of making the mock-up by ourselves, we proceeded with the design so that materials, structure, and form are integrated to form a single space.

The project focused on how to process and stabilize the natural material of bamboo as a structure and how to integrate individual elements such as thread, bamboo, joints, and base to merged one beautiful architecture.

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NET WORK OF ROADS AT GINZ A CIT Y

Ginza has a major avenue lined with glamorous high-brand stores, but its attraction comes from overlapping of streets of various sizes.

We decided to use this streetscape to create an architecture which big and small, or strong and weak, support each other.

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REFERENCES FOR MATERIAL STUDY

Bending system

Combination of Bamboo Units

FIRST Concept Model

Constructuion process

In material research, we picked up some traditional material, instrument and clothes for seeking the good relationship between two different factors.

Then we decided to use bamboo and thread as the structure material.

And after some study, Bamboo bending, which is a system supporting its own weight by the power of bend, was come up with.

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study3 study7-2

study6-1

study2 study5 study7-1

study1 study4 study6-2

FORM STUDIES

Firstly we were seeking good harmony between Bamboo and Thread following the theme.

But every idea seemed to have structural problem and lack the beauty which came from the combination of two different type of material (study1-study5).

After the idea of BENDING came out, we focused on how to combine each unit for keeping enough dimension and showing the beauty of interaction of materials (study6-study7).

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EXPLODED ISOMETRIC 52

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500MM

Plan & Elevation

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In this competition, it was asked to complete the construction in a day. So we used metal pipe as a mold and fix Bamboos in first phase.

Then, inserted threads as quick as possible.

After finishing it, we removed the mold gradually, and the structure wo u ld ke e p it s sh ap e by balancing the bending power with the tension of threads.

1. Framing by metal pipes

2. Set bent bamboos

3.Thread through bamboo holes

4. Remove the frame

COLOR ARR ANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

PERSPECTIVE FROM FOUR DIRECTIONS Different colored threads are placed in each direction.

The landscape changes depending on the direction of view.

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1-CUT TING BAMBOOS

Went to the bamboo forest, and trim/ split/ convey bamboos.

Since the length was not long enough, we proceeded to study the joints to keep enough strength for standing by itself.

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2-MAKING BOMBOO UNIT

The morphology was optimized by alternating between structural calculations on the grasshopper and studies on the actual mockup.

4 - F I N A L M O C K- U P

3 - A D J U ST I N G F O R M

After unmolding, the form remained intact for a few minutes, but gradually the bamboo structure became unbalanced, resulting in the collapse.

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ISOMETRIC VIEW OF NEW STRUCTURE

Based on the failure of the four-units structure, we designed a new two-units teahouse by improving the way the bamboo is joined to the base and the angle of units.

This structure continued to stand for more than five days without collapsing in structural test using mock-ups.

It was supposed to be exhibited in another competition, but the competition has now been postponed due to the the COVID-19.

We want to realize this idea in the future.

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Pictures after 5-days structual testing

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0 5 O T H E R WO R K S

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YA M A N OT E - L I N E , AS A N ARCHITECTURE Th e m e [ Ru l e , S p a c e , U N R E A L ] Ty p e : c o m p e t i t i o n Aw a rd : S e c o n d P r i ze i n t h e " E R I A rc h i t e c t u re D e s i g n C o m p e t i t i o n " .

For thinking of UNREAL situation, I assumed the time that the gate of train wound be gone with the development of technogy.

Ya m a n o t e - L i n e h a s v a r i e t y o f relationship between Tokyo in terms of the geography and buildings around. So by making structure which has suitable relationship with surroundings on the rail, the line itself (including on the track) is regarded as an architecture.

S O I L C LU B IN A SHELTER Th e m e [ B o d y Cu l t u re C l u b ] Ty p e : c o m p e t i t i o n

In this project, I propose "Soil CLUB", which is the temporary structure in a shelter for people keeping their habit of exercise under the severe disaster situation.

When a big flood hit a city, a lot of sediment washes into the city and people have to remove it. By reusing it as an architectur al material, we can give a space for people moving their body in a shelter.

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SCHOOL IS M OV I N G AROUND CITIES Th e m e [ P u b l i c S p a c e i n 2 0 X X ] Ty p e : c o m p e t i t i o n P a r t n e r : Ko t a N a r u s e Aw a rd : H o n a b l e M e n t i o n i n t h e " U R B A N P U B L I C S PAC E D E S I G N CO M P E T I T I O N 2 019 " .

We have been involved in various things through school since childhood. Such experiences are personal, but they are something that everyone can sympathize with.

Defining such a school/social interface in cities as “public space", we designed the new elementary school moving around Japan through a year.

[THERE IS A D E A D B O DY U N D E R T H E PA R K ] Th e m e [ L i v i n g u p o n t h e P L AY ] Ty p e : c o m p e t i t i o n Partner:Satavee Kijsanayotin

Cycling/Skating Slope → Kinetic Energy

Climbing Planter → Ash Storage

Running Deck →Meditation Space

Trampoline → Electric Generator

Climbing House/Memorial Ramp → Kinetic Stairs

Spinner → Brick/3D Printer

This proposal seeks to form the connection between everyday play and death.

As we excude energy while we play, the various playground instruments collects the our kinetic energy, as it generate and distribute energy to the crematorium below.

As the departed is cremated, their energy is also redirected to other parts, as well as above. The ashes is then collected and reprocessed into toys, playground instruments, and building materials that is send back up above to start the process once again.

Above, children co-existing with death as they “PLAY”.

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