conceptual design and visualization 

the conceptual design and visualization page exhibits various examples of conceptual design and visualization work: renderings, photographic retouching, diagramming, drawings and full projects that have been produced alongside various design professionals. on these projects i have served as an essential component during the initial phases of design development, harnessing the conceptual thrust and vision for the idea, process, image and overall project outcome.

conceptual and visualization development for floatastic for QASTIC Lab

Designed and constructed by QASTIC Lab, ‘Balance Through Buoyancy’ is a temporary research pavilion called “Floatastic” which was designed and built for a private client to serve as a shade pavilion for a wedding ceremony. Situated in Edgerton Park, in New Haven, Connecticut (an Olmsted planned landscape), this deployable structure aims to create a floated shelter which avoids imposing any loads to the ground, which traditional structures require. Instead, it proposes a well-fabricated balloon, which is filled with Helium to raise the imposed loads of fabric veils and any possible dynamic environmental loads toward the sky. 

Buoyancy is achieved through the efficient harnessing of a noble gas. The idea of ‘Flesh’ is explored through the pavilions possible functions and effects, by which an abstracted mass can impose on fabric surfaces in both relaxation and tension. It is within this dialogue of the helium container and the loads that we can test possible architectural and spatial effects, with articulation between Balloon edges and fabric veils exploring the possibilities in which the complex surface veils are relaxed or in tension in double curvature configurations.

Making use of the method of reversing load bearing systems, the form of the pavilion is defined by geometrically precise formwork that is then fabricated with randomly varying edges both for the horizontal balloon and the PVC pipes on the ground to allow for varied functions at different heights, climates and locations.  Since the surrounding environment and microclimate fluctuate in every 24 hours cycle, our studies found that the floating pavilion will experience many buoyant conditions which are unique however steady.

Metaphorically, Floatastic is envisioned to be a surrealistic Jellyfish that appears alive and attempts to swim against the external forces in the air. However, rather than being in water, Floatastic questions its audiences to unconsciously know if they are floating in the sea or on the ground.

concept development and renderings for 2013 FAR-ROC Competition in NYC: AmphibioScapes entry for Cheng + Snyder  

Housing as landscape / Landscape that embraces water:  AmphibioScapes allows the entire site to function as a water filter and inundation retardant creating a new hyrbid typology that is part living space, part estuary, and completely dedicated to creating a rich array of water environments. Our proposal weaves together housing and water treatment into a seamless landscape. Architecture interacts with water in a diverse range of ways: sponge, water treatment, and channel.

Housing as water filter: By utilizing a decentralized system of infrastructure that stitches into the city fabric at the scale of parcels and streetscapes, but integrates an entire network of the city’s shoreline, recalibration of this design strategy is possible, adapting the system with needs for development and infrastructure; and more importantly, systems are tested repeatedly on the small scale, so failures can be integrated into the evolution without catastrophic consequences. As the needs of the city evolve over time, so too can this system of infrastructure.