selected works: design portfolio 2015-2021

PORTFOLIO

ARCHITECTURAL WORKS (2015-2021) ZENON TAN

V O L . 2 0 2 / 2 0 2 1

ABOUT ME TAN

XUN

HUI

ZENON

architectural graduate singaporean 24/02/1993 zenontanxh@gmail. com +65 92726824 About Zenon is a graduate of the Masters of Architecture and Bachelor of Science (Architecture and Sustainable Design) in the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Zenon is fascinated with the beauty of architecture, and how people experience space as an art form. He strives to combine his talent as a photographer and an amateur videographer with architecture. He believes in the power of architecture to captivate and impact people in beautiful, meaningful ways.

In his school time, Zenon likes to explore different ways of expressing architecture, be it through videography or a different form of drawing, through the many different skills he possesses. He believes that architecture should transcend beyond just drawings and renderings, and explore the experiential as a form of expression.

In his free time, Zenon likes to take pictures of things. He fascinated with Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object from Earth.

He enjoys flims, especially Lars von Trier, Sofia Coppola and Denis Villeneuve. His favorite film is Blue Velvet by David Lynch. Zenon also enjoys the works of Saul Leiter, Vilhem Hammershoi, Francisco de Goya, Tadao Ando and SANAA.

Education Sep 2017-Sep 2018 Singapore University of Technology and Design Masters of Architecture (Honors with Distinction) Graduation Thesis explores cinema as architecture, through the redesign of a new kabuki theatre in Tokyo, Japan May 2014-Sep 2017 Bachelors of Science, Singapore University of Technology and Design Architecture and Sustainable Design (Magna Cum Laude) Demonstrated proficiency in design and technical skills through numerous studios and courses May 2015-Sep 2015 Zhejiang University Represented SUTD in a term-long exchange program to Hangzhou, China

Awards Recipient of SUTD Asian Leadership Scholarship Awarded for outstanding academic results and includes a term long exchange program to Zhejiang University

Curriculum Vitae Design: Core Studio I, II, III, Option Studio I, II, III, Thesis II, Introduction To Design, Capstone Electives: World Civilisation and Texts I, II, Architecture History, Theory Culture I, II, III, Urban Housing Typologies, Paradigms of Adaptation, Conservation Theories & Approaches of Built Heritage, Architectural Law I, II Sustainability, Computation and Fabrication Design: The Digital World, Introduction to Design Computation, Architecture Science and Technology, Architectural Structure & Enclosure Design, Digital Design and Fabrication, Architectural Energy System, Advanced Topics in Performative Design: Urban Sustainability, Building Information Modeling Others: The Multicultural Archipelago in History and Story

Experience Architectural Executive: CIAP Architects Assisted in the design and production of various local healthcare and education projects namely the Integrated Care Hub in Novena and the Jalan Damai Integrated Development in Bedok. Co-lead of the parametric team in developing Grasshopper and fabrication tools for the office and for the design of a responsive sunscreen in an A&A project.

2019 Senior Research Assistant: Singapore University of Technology and Design Prepared research documents, assisted in design of sustainable tensegrity, biomechanical and environmentally responsive structures 2018 Teaching Assistant: Architecture History, Theory and Culture II Prepared teaching materials and held weekly recitation classes 2017 Design Committee: SUTD ASD Gradshow 2017: Metadata Conceptualised and designed the graduation exhibition and its branding Fall Internship: PAC Architects Involved in the conceputalisation, design, renders and drawings of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Resort and Media Centre in Chongli Member: Capstone Project with Ministry of Law Design of an exhibition to showcase the heritage of The Red Dot Museum Participant: Kazuyo Sejima Inujima Workshop Worked with Kyoto Seika University as part of Option Studio II 2016 Summer Internship: DP Architects Involved in the design and drawings of several residential projects in China, office interior design for TCL and a competition in Doha Teaching Assistant: ASD Core Studio II Prepared teaching materials and held weekly consultation sessions, as well as assisting the studio mentors

2015 Participant, Asian Leadership Programme: Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China Participated in numberous design workshops and programs and was involved in the design of a teahouse in Hangzhou, China under ZJU mentors Head of Web Design, Design Subcommittee: SUTD Orientation 2015 Led the design for the orientation website as part of the orientation programme

Skills CAD Modeling: Rhinoceros, Sketchup, Revit (BIM), Autocad Rendering: Vray, Octane Renderer, Cinema 4D Graphic Design: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Lightroom, Muse Videography: Premiere Pro Parametric and Analytic Tools: Grasshopper, Karamba, Kangaroo, Ladybug, DIVA, Design Builder Languages: English, Mandarin (Modern/Traditional) Others: Digital and film photography, model making. sketching, web design

CONTENT I THESIS II COMPUTATION/ FABRICATION III UNDERGRADUATE IV OTHER WORKS

I THESIS

CINEMA & KABUKI: A HYBRID REALITY MASTER THESIS This thesis first explores cinema and its relevance and application to the realm of architecture. Film is the perfect act of architecture for it is able to craft immaculate narratives and scenes of reality through manipulating space and time. By studying the chosen films such as Blade Runner 2049 and In The Mood for Love and dissecting selected scenes, we understand the importance of framing as the scale of the object, and editing as the flow of narrative, as tools for crafting narratives. Most importantly, the control of what the eye sees personified by the camera, and bodily motion through movement as the most important elements of cinema.

To exhibit the power of such techniques, we then turn to Kabuki, a traditional Japanese performance art, as a canvas for such cinematic techniques to occur architecturally. The proposal of a radical new stage in a changing landform where the audience and the performer, the viewer and the viewed, becomes blurred. The Kabuki performance is no longer experience while seated; the audience, guided by changes in stage formation, lighting and actor movement, follows the drama as it unfolds.

Year:

2018

Advisor:

Christine

Yogiaman

Team:

/

https://issuu.com/zenontan/docs/architecture_is_film Full thesis proposal booklet on ISSUU

THESIS RESEARCH

https://issuu.com/zenontan/docs/architecture_is_film Full thesis prep booklet on ISSUU

II COMPUTATION/ FABRICATION

GEOMETRIC EXPLORATIONS AND 3D PRINTING Plugins used: Weaverbird, Millipede, Pufferfish, Lunchbox, Dendro During the COVID-19 circuit breaker in 2020, I was able to have some fun exploring geometric shapes on Rhinoceros and Grasshopper and to 3D print some of the objects. I played with many shapes through the different plugins and set them up so that they could be 3D printed using a hobbyist 3D printer. These are some of the objects and the results.

Gyroid Minimal Surfaces Explorations with Millipede

A gyroid is a triply minimal surface object. It has the mathemetical formula of: sinxcosy + sinycosx + sinzcosy = 0 at every point The goal is to make use of the formula through millipede to generate a gyroid cube and smoothen the object with weaverbird to prepare it for 3D printing. Unfortunately with only a basic FDM 3D printer at my disposal, the print supports that are embedded into the object makes it difficult for removal.

“Glue separation” minimal surfaces The goal is to generate and micmic glue separation trails when one separates two objects joined by a strong viscious adhesive. First points are randomly populated on two surfaces, then joined by a line randomly. The generated lines are then converted into volume through Dendro and then turned into minimal surfaces in Millipede. The object is then smoothened through weaverbird. Of course, this is not an accurate representation of the physical phenomenon of seperating a viscious fluid. More work needs to be done to approximate it even further, and millipede’s minimal surface does not work well on volumes with a narrow cross section.

Pufferfish Explorations Morphing Simple Objects into Complex Artifacts through Twisted Box Through Surface Function This is a fun geometric exploration of turning simple polyhednrons into complex voxel objects through the use of Pufferfish and Dendro.

Step 1: Two surfaces are generated Step 2: Twisted Box Through Surfaces plugin on Pufferfish is used to generate boxes inbetween the two surfaces Step 3: A polyhedron 3D line object is inserted into the Box morph plugin with the boxes generated previously to morph it to fit the boxes Step 4: Dendro is used to turn the curves into voxel volume through Dendro Step 5: Object is generated for 3D print

EXPLORING EVOLUTIONARY SOLVERS TO CALCULATE SHORTEST PATH Plugins used: Galapagos Below is a quick study of using Galapagos to determine the shortest path from the start to end point on a surface. The line in red is the curve on surface between the start to the end point. The line in green is the result of an optimised shortest path.

Galapagos requires a little bit of guessing at the beginning for the genome sliders so I have moved the 6 points to be optimised as close as the surface curve as possible.

EXPLORATIONS IN DECODING SPACES FOR TAMPINES NORTH Plugins used: Decoding Spaces Isovist This is a little simple analysis of Tampines North, my new area of residence that is currently undergoing major construction work for new HDBs and Primary Schools. This is a isovist analysis of what I can see from outside my apartment’s laundry area as I look out of it.

Segment Analysis (Closeness Centrality) Closeness Centrality is a measure of centrality in a network. It measures how close a node is to the other nodes. The figure is calculated as a reciprocal of the total lengths of the shortest paths between the nodes and all the other nodes involved. I ran a simple Closeness Centrality on the roads near my place of residence.

PAPER CLAY PRINTING WITH A MODIFIED 3D PRINTER (WORK IN PROGRESS) This is a personal ongoing project to modify a FDM 3D printer to extrude clay. In order to extrude clay, the 3D print has to be upgraded to a clay extruder. The G-Code for the print also has to be change in such a way that it takes into account the thickness of the extrusion, its retraction speed and movement.

In order to print clay, I am currently in the process of setting up a script to generate the G-Code through Grasshopper for 3D Printing, with help from online research and guidebooks. G-Codes are usually made in a slicer software, so by generating the G-Code directly from Grasshopper, it allows for more flexibility, especially for clay printing.

I am also exploring the use of paper clay in place of normal klin clay, due to its biodegrable abilities. Paper clay is made up of paper fibres, flour and drywall putty. It can be broken down by the enivronment, which makes it a useful impermeable object that can be used for pots to grow seedlings. I am also currently working on incorporating moss into the clay so that it can become part of nature as the moss takes over the print object.Incorporating moss has currently not been successful yet as dry substrate causes it to not propagate, while wet substrate causes mold.

III

UNDERGRADUATE

LIVING LAYERS Urban housing LIVING LAYERS is an urban housing proposal situated in Kallang, a historic area of Singapore where the past meets the present.

The project proposes a new way of living, where living spaces protrude out into a common courtyard, fostering a sense of belonging. Each apartment is a duplex unit, providing dwellers with an unique living experience in the heart of the city. The users of the complex get to enjoy a series of communal and community spaces scattered around, allowing for active communities to be formed.

A study of the site and its context reveals to us that Kallang is an extremely diverse place containing a multitude of building typologies, communities and experiences. These layers of information slowly unveils itself as one experiences Kallang.

It is therefore important for the architecture to reflect this level of community and levels of interaction within. Hence, my proposal is to make use of such layers of interaction and privacy architecturally.

Year: 2nd Year, Semester 2

Teacher: Ermano Cirillo

Team:

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TERRAINS The Openness of Learning TERRAINS is an extended campus area in the heart of the city, Dhoby Ghaut. It serves to provide classes for students and non-students alike, and is also a learning centre to promote the learning culture of SUTD. Terrains is a proposal to encourage the idea of the openness of learning.

By emulating the natural landscapes of the rolling hills, users can step up and down to reach different parts of the centre in a continuous space. Small gardens are punctured into the complex to bring light and nature, through the preservation of the already present trees on site.

A study of the site and its surrounding transformation through night and day reveals to us important information about the important vistas of the site.

Because the project is about the openness of learning, it was important to not only provide views from the intervention, but also allow views into the building. The building then takes on a curved exterior that curates how people look into, and out of the building into the several views of Orchard, documenting its spatio-temporal transformation.

The curved walls provide for a panoramic view to occur, curving to provide views from outside, and curving out to provide views from inside the building.

Year: 2nd Year, Semester 1

Teacher:

Yvonne

Tan

Team:

/

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THE SMOKE MACHINE Designing with light THE SMOKE MACHINE is an exploration of designing with light, the ephemeral element of architecture.

THE SMOKE MACHINE is a sensorial art installation which lets the spectators experience the look, smell and sensation of smoke. Here, natural light transmitted through a prism breaks down into its spectrum of colors, and these beams of light interact with the rising smoke of incense, creating an indescribable expression that is almost ethereal.

Within the art space contains a transparent glass box meant to keep the smoke in, independent of its users, allowing the smoke to rise, dance and disappear.

This is an architectural attempt to create architecture beyond drawings, and into the realm of filmic expression through model experimentations of the emphermeral.

Year: 3nd Year, Semester 3

Teacher:

Jason

Lim

Team:

/

https://vimeo.com/275077056 Full video of THE SMOKE MACHINE

INITIAL STUDY OF LIGHT AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH DIFFERENT MEDIUM

5 sided prism

Isosceles Prism

Dichroic prism

similar to a regular prism, the irregular shape of the prism disperses light into all faces of the prism instead.

Upon passage through the prism, the white light is separated into its component colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The separation of visible light into its different colors is known as dispersion.

Dichroic glass is glass which displays two different colors by undergoing a color change in certain lighting conditions.

Used in architecture, amazon headquarters, Seattle.

The requirements of the studio is to choose a building within the Kallang Industrial area. Wee Tiong Building is chosen due to its scale. the ratio of the floor to the height of the building is low, creating a rather narrow space to work in. the narrow space is optimal due to the characteristics of the smoke that is going to be used.

Smoke moves upwards, hence the building is chosen due to the dramatics it will add into allowing smoke to move upwards in a narrow space.

The top 3 stories of the building will be selected as the site for adaptive reuse of the space into an art installation about light and smoke.

INUJIMA GREENHOUSE Project Inujima The INUJIMA GREENHOUSE explores the use of gardening as a way to bring together communities.

Situated on the island of Inujima on the Seto Inland Sea in Japan, it is an island with a dwindling population with a booming tourist sector, with foreigners visiting the islands for its art works.

Inujima in the past used to be a supplier of granite for the castles in Tokyo and Osaka, and a copper refinery. In the 1950s a huge scandal involving the pollutive nature of these industrial activites changed the fate of Inujima forever; Inujima became abandoned and those who seeked the fortunes of this island stranded in a limbo.

Inujima has always been an amalgation of communities, habitats and experiences. Native plants grow alongside with invasive species with those brought over from the mainland by the locals.

Because of the uniqueness of Inujima as a n island stitched by memories, plants and communities, the Inujima Greenhouse proposes a creation of a greenhouse, by revamping old abandoned houses, into a greenhouse that will host a variety of plants foreign to the island.

The Greenhouse will act as a community centre where visitors to the island and the locals can work on the greenhouse together through growing, producing, harvesting and consuming.

The activities of the Inujima community revolves around the act of agriculture, giving rise to a new form of interaction.

A series of illustrations below showcase the greenhouse and the activities it is surrrounded by in the 4 different seasons.

Year: 3nd Year, Semester 3

Teacher: Erwin Viray, Jasion Lim

Team:

/

A stitched community united by art, stories and gardening

To Okayama Inujima Main Town To Naoshima

Active Stone Quarry

Former Stone Quarry/ Seirensho Art Museum

Inujima Life Garden

Houses in occupancy Art House Projects Abandoned Houses

Beach area

https://vimeo.com/221888106 Full video of the morning exercise of inujima

IV OTHER WORKS

Project at Bedok Rise is a proposal for the A&A works for a private residence. Due to its orientation, the front facade of the residence is under a lot of solar radiation during the late afternoons.

The proposal aims to design a parametrically informed sunscreen that responses to the solar radiation through computational tools using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper.

The following images document the logical process in which the sunscreen is designed. The sunlight angles will inform the angle of the panels in each aperture of the sunscreen, either allowing more or less sunlight to pass through. The lower panels will allow sunlight to pass through into the balcony, while the higher panels block sunlight from entering into the house.

Grasshopper components like Ladybug, Galapagos and native components are used.

The project was co-led by me and another colleague of mine.

Jalan Damai Integrated Development (2020)