Design Projects
Plastic Plastic
Thesis Design 2021, Princeton University
04/ 2021
Outstanding Presenters Princeton Research Day
Princeton Reunion 2021 Pitch Competition, People’s Choice Award
Every year, 150 million tonnes of plastic leaches into the world’s oceans. The extent of oceaning plastic contamination is rapidly approaching a critical level where there will soon be more plastic in the ocean by mass, than fish. Currently, the vast majority of plastic leaches into the oceans via polluted rivers, and coalesces into vast ‘plastic islands’ deep in the ocean. However, despite being aware of the points of discharge and coalescence, little has been attempted to collect waterborne plastics. This is because the extreme disparity between the minute scales of plastic pollutants, and their colossal areas of contamination, makes it challenging for humans to adequately comprehend, let alone manage.
Our thesis situates architecture as a medium through which both scales of plastic pollution can be addressed, as a tool through which plastic pollutants can be consolidated into a manageable and perceptible scale. Focusing on the Pacific garbage patch and the mouth of the LA river as sites of intervention, this thesis speculates upon the development of novel architectural systems for the extraction and long term storage of aquatic plastic pollutants.
Once implemented, our sites serve to consolidate plastic sediments from vast geographies of minute fragments, into a dense nucleation of plastic landscapes and architecture. Through its continued growth and mutation, the site becomes a lifeform for the accumulation and eventual digestion of plastic pollutants. As societies gradually transition away from plastics, towards less harmful alternatives, we anticipate the growth of the site to stagnate, transforming it into an artifact of bygone plastic consumption, all the while locking away plastics within the dense fabric of the city.
Casted Cabins
07/ 2021 Terra Viva The Living Museum Competition Entry
w/ Dan Asoli, Derek Shin
The Nivola Museum functions simultaneously as an icon for the Orani municipality but also as an entity separated from its ecological and civic context. The addition of temporary residences to the existing complex thereby presents an opportunity to disassemble this dilemma, proving that the museum can proactively and adroitly engage both environments. Our intervention aims to:
- Preserve the surrounding ecology by prudently situating the residences within an olive orchard;
- Project a worthy civic icon, representative of Constantino Nivola’s signature sand-casting technique;
- Promote cultural heritage by utilizing a design that supports the local masonry economy.
Our aesthetic became enamored with rammed earth as the primary mode for achieving conservation ecology, in which our residences are erected using predominantly earth removed by on-site excavation. The residences bridge Nivola’s artistic legacy given the conspicuous assembly and aesthetic similarities of rammed earth to sand-casting; furthermore, the sculpted towering profiles of the residences aptly rise above the surrounding tree canopy formalizing an iconic vista for native Oranians living across the valley, all the while nimbly weaving between the tight arboreal constraints of the grove. The idiosyncratic arrangement and craft of the residences lends individual character to form, fostering opportunities for guests to experience many welcome surprises in their stay at the Nivola Museum.
This proposal is created in memory of distinguished architectural historian, critic, and educator, Richard Ingersoll, who challenged and inspired a generation of architectural thinkers to expand their conception of the architectural discipline beyond the singular building and toward broader sociological issues.
The Data Cloud
05/ 2020 instructor: Cern
The Nivola Museum functions simultaneously as an icon for the Orani municipality but also as an entity separated from its ecological and civic context. The addition of temporary residences to the existing complex thereby presents an opportunity to disassemble this dilemma, proving that the museum can proactively and adroitly engage both environments. Our intervention aims to:
- Preserve the surrounding ecology by prudently situating the residences within an olive orchard;
- Project a worthy civic icon, representative of Constantino Nivola’s signature sand-casting technique;
- Promote cultural heritage by utilizing a design that supports the local masonry economy.
Our aesthetic became enamored with rammed earth as the primary mode for achieving conservation ecology, in which our residences are erected using predominantly earth removed by on-site excavation. The residences bridge Nivola’s artistic legacy given the conspicuous assembly and aesthetic similarities of rammed earth to sand-casting; furthermore, the sculpted towering profiles of the residences aptly rise above the surrounding tree canopy formalizing an iconic vista for native Oranians living across the valley, all the while nimbly weaving between the tight arboreal constraints of the grove. The idiosyncratic arrangement and craft of the residences lends individual character to form, fostering opportunities for guests to experience many welcome surprises in their stay at the Nivola Museum.
This proposal is created in memory of distinguished architectural historian, critic, and educator, Richard Ingersoll, who challenged and inspired a generation of architectural thinkers to expand their conception of the architectural discipline beyond the singular building and toward broader sociological issues.
exisiting infrastructure on site
steaming effect as a concept for the data center
Connective Courtyard
08/ 2016
‘Siheyuan’ is a metaphor of old Chinese society.
Historically, it served as the typical housing type for Beijing inhabitants, as varying room orientations reflected the family hierarchy and provided a private courtyard for daily uses. However, due to lack of preservation, the historical districts and “Siheyuan” traditional courtyard housing have become derelict and subsequently demolished. This has led to the recession and deterioration of the once intimate “Hutong” community which is endemic to Siheyuan housing.
In order to revive the historical Siheyuan and the Hutong communities, this project studies the formulation of traditional courtyard architecture, and focuses on renovating one of the abandoned Siheyuan in Qianchaoshou neighborhood. By creating an internal street within the site, the proposed concept removes niches that are prone to deterioration, and links the old neighborhood with arts amenities. This project aims to revive not only the traditional structures, but also the long-lost cultural heritage that once exhibited in ‘Hutong’ community.
