About Me

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My education in architecture school at USC allowed me to learn more about design progress rather than odd geometry shape. I think more and trying to learn how to reconcile idealism and reality. I think creating building is same as solving question. What’s the problem and how to solve it would be more interesting. Apart from that I also got LEED GA certified and International competition experience. All academic programs don’t mean I don’t have any practical experience. I just finished a temporary job last week. I worked as an architect assistant at (fer) studio, Inglewood, CA, which started from September. I knew it was a short-term job before I started, but I still worked for them. This type of job is very acceptable to me because I can familiar with different types of firms not only through websites but also their people and the way they work. Besides that I have taken two internships. One was in KlingStubbins during last summer. I helped in modeling Russian commercial zoning by using Revit. Another one was working at MAD in China for six months. My job was schematic design and modeling done by rhino.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Exposition Park Revitalize


Los Angeles has existing six mountains around, most of which are on the north side.  We could find pieces of green filed nearby neighborhood but no complex. The idea is to create a collection of museum, entertainment, hotel, park, and office within one complex green mountain. The mountain absorbs green field nearby and programs as many as possible. This is ionic creature, the seventh mountain in Los Angles, which covers the whole Exposition Park. The existing programs would be raised to higher levels. We reserve existing sport arena and other sports filed where they are, and add cinema on the first floor. The outdoors programs, such as playground, park, and swimming pool would be located at the middle of this mountain. Besides that, the upper levels would also be the grandstands for the game. Higher levels are hotel, parks and restaurants.  This would be a live outdoor green mountain with diverse programs inside. The only problem is who would support this monster? Our proposal also considers this issue. This is a free self-sufficient mountain. The outdoor programs are free for public, which would attract as many people as possible. The inside space are used not only for playground, but also library, restaurant, retail hotel, office and parking. Benefits obtain from interior space would support all the operation expense as well as outdoor playgrounds.




The whole concept is based on financial self-sufficient circulation. The outside playground is free for public. Definitely, free programs on mountain would attract people to come and play. On the other hand, people need to eat, entertainment and accommodation after playing. Therefore, our inside programs provide space for people to show financial support to outside free ground. Besides that, the whole green mountain would be a eco-friendly system. Outside vegetation reduce “heat island effects” from crowed urban area as well as air pollution and soil erosion. Shade, provide by plants would reduce heat and temperature as well. Plants would decompose waste, which produced by interior programs.



This green mountain is a self-sufficient living creature. 1-2 floors are parking, retail, and vendors for game day’s use. The wide ground nearby coliseum would be used for evacuation and football fields. Benefits get from parking and commercial activities are used for daily maintain of ground field.  Most office, indoor entertainment space, retail and large commercial space are located at third to seventh floor. In the middle of mountain would be a big void upper the coliseum, which are open to the around green area. Therefore, it would be the free charge grandstand for the game. Programs related offices within these areas are used for managing sports game, and its outreaching programs. On the far side of coliseum there are residential, dormitories and retail. This accommodation is most used by athlete, fans and green mountain traveller. These programs are not free. Change gets from these programs are used for green fields maintenance on these floors. The upper levels of seventh to fifteen are entertainment and connected commercials. Along with top levels of hotel, the benefits are used for maintaining as well. Overall, the private developer supports the whole building with their incomes. On the other hand, free open space would attract more people to use these facilities with charge. 








New Taipei City Museum of Art (International Competition)

We want to create a museum as a ceramic art. The façade and interior scale borrows from Old Street of Yingge, New Taipei, which make people feel the coherent of the museum and it’s surrounding. Whether it is from the station, Old Street, Yingge Ceramic museum or riverside bike lane, people wouldn’t notice the entrance of building after they get into the lobby. The intersection, dislocation, and visual through make the interior space more interesting. The old history and ceramic culture of Yingge make its special status in Taiwan. Unlike other contemporary museum, New Taipei Art Museum would combine the diverse functions together, for instance, ceramic exhibition and manufacture, culture study, and entertainment space for community. This museum would be a public space for people to share and gather together. 





Customized minimum living space




It is a computer system. Clients input their personal information and preference, requirements for this space, in other words, what they would like to do in this space. Computer would generate a shape to guide you what actually space you need right now, and how it looks like. It is minimum space for living but would satisfy all clients’ need for action. This computer system helps people to reduce space where they never use.
I use a Miss W as my model and create a living space for her. First step, I asked her to do 39 questions before this experiment and choose what actions she wanted to use to create her living space. And then use my camera to record her actions. I don’t want she acts before camera but do what she usually does at home. The next move is I found a digital robot, made it as same height as she does, to simulate her actions in the computer. By snapping animation record, I got a shape of her actions, bathing, brushing, cooking, eating and drinking, making up, washing face, sleeping, sit¬ting and using washroom. These actions are all what she required before. The last step is to combine them together. 




Function space is usually a regular shape of room, which provides a group of functions together. It doesn’t have specific function but a general maximum space. That is why we waste plenty of space  there. As my model shows, the gray part has been waste if this space accommodate only one action.

Action space a specific shape of one action. This space allows only this particular action happens. This one reduce all possible waste space around.

Expanded action space is an upgrade version of action space. It includes all touchable space when one action happens. It is a combination of function space and action space. It allows maximum actions happen at one settled space. This is the principle for future deduction.

Three scales
Three scale divide actions to wrist movement, shoulder movement and waist movement. Usually the first scale movements are too subtle to be noticed, they are combined by higher level movements. The second scale movements usually relate to arm and leg. It extends the action space to a larger scale. The third scale refers to body movement. The displacement happens at third scale.



Model VS. Robot

Wang, is the model for this test. Actually there is a easier way to do that by using ‘motion capture‘. However, I don’t think this one useful because first of all they are all experimental actions. Everyone is watching her. I don’t’ think people would move unself-conscious rather than at home. I would prefer to see physical reactions. In addition, I can’t get that expensive equipment at home. Therefore, I recorded her actions at home by using my Canon 500D camera. Then I use computer to simulate her actions at home. The robot is a copy of Wang, except the body is too slim. She is shy and doesn’t want to be seen. So I won’t show her face on media.




Environmental effects
Actions are all simulated or vanished by certain environmental effects. The same attribute helps to combine several actions, which share the common environment. Environmental element shows the deepest influence on certain actions on degree of 5.

Pleasant space adjustment 
Basic shape just describes the actions of space. It accommodates a place for this happening, doesn’t not means it would necessary happens when we provide this space. Another important thing is personal feelings. We need to maximum people’s pleasant feeling as while as space. According to this diagram, ‘this’ space around is appreciable, so I  enlarge the basic shape to ‘this’ appreciable space.






Grouping 
Some of them have been affected ty same attractors, others just affected by one. Therefore, group them and let the action just influenced by one major attractor  to be the central of this group. Others who share the same attrctors would be the connection between central. The strategy not only save space for sharing but also save transportation space between them
55 actions have been divided to five groups. They are: Water, dry, light, quiet and noise.


Customized living space

Shape of each private house would have diverse options because of personal preference. Everyone would have customized individual house which created by personal behaviors at home. 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Houhai, Shenzhen CBD Transportation Design




This is an architectural modeling process. We are assigned with a existing proposal by Shenzhen, China government to validate its rationality. Our group focuses on transportation flow and its related infrastructure design. According to the formula Q (traffic flow) = K (cars/km) * V (cars/hr), we create a digital model by Maya to simulate its possible flow situation. The color blocks stand for the cars, bus, subway and other types of vehicles. Our proposal is to improve circulation by evaluating infrastructure and mode efficiency. Apart from that, we bring up a new kind of solution, iPhone application. By using app in iPhone we can get the live flow on road and reduce congestion within this area more efficiently.

Nine different scenarios were tested in order to reveal the worst, least fluid movement (lowest ’Q’). This occurs when relative velocity (V) and density (K) are highest. As a result of these tests other significant problematic scenarios were exposed. Left turns without an adequate dedicated left turn land and signal result in congestion. At the level of a local road the presence of a parking lot exit proves to inhibit flow, especially following a major event, such as a stadium event when a large quantity of vehicles populate the site at once. This situation entirely disrupts flow and necessitates specific traffic control operations for alleviation. The rate of flow is on the curve immediately prior to a state of congestion. This state would eventually prove to be achieved by a combination of strategies working simultaneously in an intelligent hybrid mode.



The basic strategy is calculating population in this area and arranging their entrances from every intersection. We got possible population according different programs in the area.  That is why we did research on intersections. This is basic information for future modeling.


The next step is creating a model of traffic flow simulation within this area. The running blocks on the road stand for vehicle in the traffic. Each car has unique attributes, which forced it moving along the different lanes, directions and speed. We used numbers to stand for four directions of destination. For instance, ‘12’ is north, ‘6’ is south, ‘9’ equal to west and east is ‘3’. Therefore, every car has it own destination number. A car from north to south is ‘6’. The second attribute is lane number. The central lane is the busiest one which uses number ‘3’ stands for. And the lane closest to curb is ‘1’. We set the cars at start point and primary speed and then we got the digital model of flow. We can see clearly that ''
‘RED’ color stands for congestion.  


 After examining possible congestion of this area, we offered different solutions to Shenzhen, China government. The first one is adding public transportation, which includes bus, subway and bicycle. Comparing to existing proposal, add one subway line with two stops would reduce traffic jam and improve circulation efficiency to 23.6%. And one bus line would reduce traffic jam and improve circulation efficiency to 10.2%.


 Another solution is eliminating left turn by using new infrastructure. We created a new model of adding new type of infrastructure and calculated the new efficiency. Comparing to existing proposal, add one intersection would reduce traffic jam and improve circulation efficiency to 12.3%. Using ‘no left turn’ strategy below would reduce traffic jam and improve circulation efficiency to 13.8%. In order to reduce number of vehicle by reducing parking lot or rising parking fee is another efficiency way.




The last but most efficient way is using Iphone notification system. What proved to be the most efficient tool is what we are proposing in the form of an iPhone application. This powerful tool is capable of increasing efficiency by 56.3%. Any user can choose to send his or her own travel plan (origin, destination and time) to a main server via iPhone. The server is continuously updating and calculating millions of users individual, unique input data to get a perfect route composition for the street system, and returning to each user an optimum mode and route choice. All this before the user steps out the door. In the event of an unforeseen circumstance that will affect the smooth travel the user is immediately informed via iPhone. The diagram to the right depicts this process. The user wakes up, prepares for the day, send travel plan request, (complete with mode and cost preference), receives the travel plan and leaves for his or her destination, and go to work.

Conclusion
Infrastructures Implementation of a subway system is certainly an effective choice, but does not come at a low cost. Market rate parking prices is another effective strategy, but limited in that it does not provide any greater use in terms of movement of users. The single most effective tool is the intelligence-based iPhone application at almost 50% efficiency. Because of the micro-architecture of this tool, it’s usefulness is incredibly increased. It possesses an inherent capacity that transcends this site alone and will operate on any site of any scale.