zj.ruan.nz@gmail.com BAS, MArch (Prof) ADNZ Intern Member
The word 'design' has always held a special place in my vocabulary, and enjoy discovering the 'designed environment' that surrounds us. Graphic design helps me express my individuality, and architecture introduces me to a new dimension of human creation. appreciate every project I've worked on and am enthusiastic about working with others. My key quote is 'Always wanting to wonder and expect the unexpected.'.
EDUCATION
Victoria University of Wellington - School of Architecture 2021 - 2023
Wellington, New Zealand Master of Architecture (Prof) Research Stream
DARA / Digital Architecture Research Alliance < Dreaming, An Architectural Bridge > An enquire of using dreams as a generative design tool for architectural design.
Victoria University of Wellington - School of Architecture 2015 - 2017
Wellington, New Zealand Bachelor of Architectural Studies in Architecture
Yoobee College of Creative Innovation 2014
Auckland, New Zealand Graphic Design Diploma
AWARDS
Resene Total Colour Award 2022
Commercial Interior Public + Retail Colour Maestro Award
Noah's Ark Teahouse, 128 Cuba Street
Best Design DINZ 2023
Digital Gold Award
<<Dreaming, An Architectural Bridge>>
WORK EXPERIENCE
Noah's Ark Teahouse April 2015 - Current Multi-Roles / Wellington, New Zealand
Operations Manager May 2018 - Current
Responsible for the daily business operations, both external (admin and customers) and internal (office and multi-stores), and system management to ensure seamless support for the business and franchisees. This role covers a wide range of operational tasks; these include Team Leadership, Brand and Business Development, Project Management, Technical Operations Support, Account Management, Inventory Management, Property Maintenance, Policy Development and Report Production.
Project Lead Architectural Designer
Oct 2017 - Current
Responsible for leading, managing and overseeing the entire commercial fit-out projects on a day-to-day basis from the conception phase through to design development, construction drawings, bidding negotiation, construction administration, building consent and closeout phases (Including store/business setup).
Design Manager
Oct 2017 - Current
Work and manage on a wide range of projects and media, using various computer software to visualise and develop innovative graphic designs that meet business goals. Task includes Web Design, Photography, Product Development, Advertising and any imagery production design.
Assistant Manager
Oct 2017 - May 2018
Team leadership, recruiting and training staff, and effective communication improves staff performance and morale. Operate and manage multiple sites on a daily basis.
Customer Services
Apr 2015 - Sep 2017
Victoria University of Wellington - School of Architecture 2022 - Current Teaching Assistant Feb - Jun 2022 & 2023
SARC161 Introduction to Design Communication Lecturer: Tane Moleta
Ars Electronica Contractor May - Jun 2022
Exhibition space construction, setup & ongoing support.
ZHUBO DESIGN
Nov 2016 - Feb 2017
Architectural Intern / Shenzhen, China
Assist and collaborate with lead Architects and the team in producing architectural design and drawings. Participate in the conceptualisation and preparation of the proposal for clients. Assist on various projects, including large scale residential complexes, commercial projects, and event planning.
During my employment at Noah's Ark Teahouse, effectively rebranded the business both graphically and architecturally, created a new identity, and promoted it in the local community. Upon accepting the role of Assistant Manager, prioritized brand development and quality control, resulting in a sales increase of over 300 percent within a year. This achievement led to my rapid promotion and expanded responsibilities overseeing the company's design section. I further contributed to the company's growth by designing and expanding six new stores and establishing an office within two years.
Despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, I focused on growth strategies aimed at enhancing the efficiency of current organizational processes and procedures to develop and maintain internal capacity. I spearheaded the implementation of new systems such as point-of-sale, online and delivery systems, mobile app, quality control, and franchising systems to ensure seamless support for both customers and the business. In this capacity, I worked closely with developers to create, update, and improve integrated systems that meet present and future needs. Achievement
Thesis Supervisor
tane.moleta@vuw.ac.nz
David Leng Noah's Ark Teahouse Former Inventory Control
dleng97@gmail.com
+64 210 576 005
Architectural Projects
During my tenure at Noah's Ark, completed numbers of hospitality fit-out projects for this Wellington-based bubble tea franchise company. I was responsible for leading, managing, and supervising the entire project on a daily basis from the concept phase to design development, construction drawings, bidding negotiation, construction administration, building consent, and closed-out phases, which included shop & business setup.
These projects aim to challenge the status quo of the fast-paced beverage sector by emphasising architectural enjoyment through quality finishes and installations.
Along with brand development, my project at Noah's Ark aims to create a distinctive and aesthetically pleasing experience at each specific site, as opposed to the typical approach of "copying and pasting" typography. Each project is located in a unique environment, such as a mall, food court, storefront, or heritage building. This offers a design solution that utilises the branding colour pattern and achieves a mixture of contemporary and vintage ambience in the interior while creating a new look to present this new beverage concept to the community in a different environmental context.
128 CUBA STREET
The project is located in the heritage Gear Meat Co. Building on Cuba Street, a prominent city street in Wellington Central. During the concept design phase, I spent considerable time observing the area's skin tone and details to ensure that the store's appearance was vibrant while being hidden around the corner of Cuba, focusing on maintaining the street's heritage tone.
The project's construction phase ran smoothly, and the Certificate of Public Use was issued before the final inspection; according to the WCC inspector, the project was wellmanaged, and communication was clear. This allowed the business to begin operations around two weeks before the handover date.
93 COURTENAY PLACE
Renovation fit-out
Area 55m²
Construction Tim Johnston
Joinery Townshends Joinery
Given the nature of the popular area, the store was approaching an ample customer seating and foot traffic area. With a few small constraints of the site, such as a narrow space and eco concerns, I overcame the issue by utilising wall mirrors to maximise the sight within the space and sound insulation foam cut into circles and hung from the ceiling to symbolise 'bubbles'. Notably, the project was completed two months before the start of the first quarantine; as a result, the intended plan to use wooden furniture was scrapped and black circular tables with black circular tops were fitted; yet, they appear to complement the black foam on the ceiling quite well. 2020
2017 was the inaugural year of Noah's Ark's bubble tea spread in the Event Cinema pop-up food court. Since then, a new store in the Courtenay Place area has been planned, thanks to the business's enormous success. After two years of establishing five new locations in the Wellington and Auckland area, the business has returned to its old ground.
TE ARO
180 LAMBTON QUAY
Renovation fit-out Area 49m² Construction Collins Carpentry LTD Joinery Manufactured Overseas
This is my first project in a mall setting, and it is located on the ground floor of Lambton Square, underneath the food court. The budget was the project's major challenge since the landlord expected a costly fit-out while the business owner could only afford a quality renovation. In order to make it even, other strategies were required, such as utilising acrylic sheets for the counter facade and manufacturing the joinery overseas, which resulted in significant cost savings for this 11-meter-long Caesarstone benchtop.
This project provided an excellent opportunity to practise interacting with overseas manufacturers, such as by almost double checking everything, because there are no returns once the product has been manufactured.
WELLINGTON CENTRAL
OTHER PROJECTS
Academic Projects
Selected Projects
Bachelor of Architecture 2017 & Master of Architecture (Prof) 2021 - 2023
Dreaming, An Architectural Bridge
Design explorations examining creative practices between the conscious world and the unconscious mind.
2022 - 2023
ARCI593 Research Portfolio
Supervisor: Tane Moleta
Research Stream: DARA / Digital Architecture Research Alliance
Typology: Human-computer interaction (HCI) in Architecture Best Design Digital Gold Award 2023
This research centres on the question of whether dreams can be utilised as a generative design tool for architecture. The objective is highly intriguing, with numerous challenges due to its inherently complex nature. This study examines the relationship between dreams and architecture through the lens of surrealism to discover the revolutionary possibility for the architectural expression of dreaming. It adopts a novel and realistic approach by incorporating a Human-Computer Interface (HCI) to generate an immersive dream-like architectural experience in a virtual environment, focusing on meaningful and influential interactions through unconscious emotions emanating from the dreaming brain.
The research method employs the conglomeration of the following software and hardware
• Consensys (Data analysis application)
• SideFX Houdini (Procedural design application)
• Unreal Engine 5 (VR creation tool)
• One-channel Shimmer3 GSR+ Unit (Electrodermal Activity EDA, An emotional intensity detector)
This study utilised the researcher’s dream as a source of inspiration and created an architectural prototype using Houdini, a powerful procedural design tool. The emotional state of the researcher during the dream state is quantitatively measured via the electrodermal activity (EDA) method, through electrical potential between two skin contact points. The raw emotional data obtained through this method is subsequently translated into a numerical format using the Consensys software. The data is then utilised as inputs in the design process, specifically through the manipulation and adjustment of data and attributes within Houdini, through a procedural data workflow. The resulting simulations express the symbolic meaning of key dream elements that have been identified in this research, which are generation (the creativity), time and emotion. This ultimately yields an architectural prototype that is influenced by the researcher’s dreaming mind, the unconscious creativity revealed through emotional states. To enhance the dream-like experience, virtual reality is employed to enable a fully immersive and interactive exploration of the design.
The research outcome exceeded the aim and objectives by utilising cutting-edge technology to develop an architectural bridge to the gap between the unconscious and physical realm. However, this experiment encountered a number of technical limitations that suggest potential areas for future research, which will be mentioned in the discussion section of this inquiry. This study has successfully established a comprehensive understanding and a systematic framework for this innovative approach; it is a precursor research in generating architecture from the human raw unconscious creativity derived from the dream.
Best Design Awards Winner 2023
PDG/TOPs Procedural Diagram
Partial of design development
Partial of design development
SOTO TOWER
Shades of The Ocean
ARCI412 Architecture Design Capstone Project
Lecturer: Simon Twose
Stream Leader: Derek Kawiti
Tutor: Callum Vartha & Max Clifford
Typology: Digital Tall Building Augmentation, parametric design
Tools
Houdini, Rhino, Revit, V-ray
SOTO is a concept for a digital skyscraper aquarium built on the waterfront, 1 Victoria Street, Wellington in the year 2049. In addition to serving a meaningful purpose for human society, the architecture is intended to enhance public awareness of ocean species. 'Shades of The Ocean' is an architecture that is designed through parametric simulation, through the use of high end digital software (Houdini), and augmented reality tool (Swarm simulation). The apparent reality of overfishing as a threat to marine biodiversity, ocean species may become endangered in the near future. A data-gathering centre for regenerating ocean species into a virtual life that lives within the Cerebro Towers to record each marine organism’s life path, SOTO is required to create an artificially produced environment to sustain the ‘virtual life’ in architecture.
Structural Joint Frame
Steel Framing & Shear Wall
Profiled Concrete Floor
Structural Mesh
Installation with Concrete Slab
Installation with Mesh
Partial node script in Houdini
SOTO Construction
Shades of The Ocean
2021
ARCI421 Integrated Technologies
Lecturer: Dr Morten Gjerde
Tutor: Mark John Warren
Typology: Integrated Technologies Design For Studio Project
Tools
Autodesk Revit, Rhino
SOTO is a skyscraper composed by seven towers – a core tower, five Cerebro towers and one signal tower. This architecture was designed with parametric simulation to have unique characteristics that are unlikely to be achieved in today's construction context. Therefore, the building was composed of basic structural systems that maximise the likelihood of realising this design from a construction standpoint in 2021.
A possibility was found by using 3D printed diagrid systems, or as they are known as nodal joints systems, a relatively novel concept idea, it has been achieved on a small scale and with possibility to replicate in a skyscraper scale in the coming future. When it comes to structural design, there can be some major concern, especially given the Wellington environment's context with earthquakes and high wind zones, which has made it more difficult for any paramedic form to be erected within the region. The investigation into the construction of SOTO in today's environment has shown a potential, which can be attributed to the advancement of building technology. Despite the fact that there are a number of apparent difficulties and knowledge gaps, particularly in the challenging local environment setting, there is a chance that they may be addressed in the near future.
Technologies proposed in this project
Steel Framing
Concrete Shear Wall
Concrete Slab Diaphragm
SSG (Structural Silicone Glazed) unitised curtain panel system
The Path is a project focused on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of students in the Wellington region during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the project is to respond architecturally to the post-pandemic environment. During my investigation, the educational transformation COVID-19 symbolises draws my attention. More extensive research centred on the direction of daily living environment and the mental health response of university students to COVID19. Where a determination has been reached, proactive actions to promote the mental health and well-being of university students are required.
To address this issue architecturally. The Path is a planned concept to construct a new student accommodation complex with a strong community culture, biophilic architecture, consideration of COVID19, and mental health enhancement.
This project aims to use architecture as a form to handle contextual concerns (student living), to enrich human emotion and engagement with the environment, and to establish a self-contained community, generating its own bubble in a postpandemic world. It takes into account local conditions, solution design, context, and case studies. Facilities Studio
kapu
Reform the space
2021
SARC412 Advanced Furniture Design
Lecturer: Natasha Perkins
Typology: Furniture Shelving System
Tools: Rhino, Table Saw, CNC Cutter, Laser Cutter
Materials: Plywood Panel, Super Magnet
The Living Pā’s cultural background gives a solid identity to the project before design iterating begins. Design thinking can be utilised to address the given brief, which supersedes the need to identify a problem - sustainability. Undertake fundamental steps such as material and processes research and selection, detail development, specification methods, and communication methods to support the design intention.
KAPU intends to maximise the use of material’s second life, to explore an opportunity for wasted furniture panels and convert them into a functional and aesthetically pleasing adjustable shelving system.
/ definition from Te Aka kapu
(noun) Hollow of the hand, palm.
(verb) To take hold of with the hollow of the hand facing upwards
The palm, or hollow of the hand, is represented by each unit of kapu. The human hand shape encourages natural engagement; when we shake hands, two hands interlock to form a close bond with the palm as the central point of touch.
Assemble
Remove
school of music
Cabinet of Curiosities
ARCI312 Architecture Design & Structure
Lecturers: Daniele Abreu e Lima & Andrew Charleson
Tutor: Ryan Mitchell
Typology: Univeristy School of Music
Tool Rhino, Revit, V-ray, illustrator
The location, in the heart of Cuba Street, attracts a large number of people on a daily basis. The project tends to carry on the Te Aro vibe, which is significantly more artistic, with structures appearing on a warmer tone.
Throughout the research, the design was driven by the Cabinet of Curiosities concept idea, which was also reflected in the neiboughours around Te Aro area, that contains a variety of styles of buildings with mix-use purposes. While keeping the project brief in mind: music. The exterior design was inspired by a symbol: a bold double bar line that serves as a "chair" for all other symbols to sit on. This concept was dramatically transformed into a symbolic architectural form.
The function of the building was carefully planned and considered from a university standpoint - a space provides for individual practise as well as a connection with people through various methods, both subtle and physical. There are numerous 'music pods' around the building, as well as enormous tutoral rooms. A feather roof design was also viewed as a good use of space, as a gathering place as well as a location for self-practice. To clarify, the space was created to separate the student and staff areas.
Facilities
Study Pods
Small Teaching Rooms
Learge Teaching Rooms
Post-grad Facilities
Tutorial Rooms
Large Auditorium
Library Green Garden
Atrium
Cafe Public Stage
Changing/
Structural System
Small Auditorium Moment Frame
Bathroom Facilities
Eccentric K Braced Frame
Secondary Steel Structure
Open Web Joist
Special Truss Design
Timber Joist Floor Diaphragm
Open Web Joist
Truss
Structure
Diaphragm with Timber Joist
Thanks for reading :)
Seleted Professional / Academic Work Designed & Organized by ZJ
