Xiao Han

Location: St Louis, US, 2016 Fall [Individual]
Studio Instructor: Adrian Luchini [Degree Project]    
Rhino, Grasshopper, Tspline, Autocad, Ps, Ai,Keyshot
 

Nowadays, the speed of people’s relocation is faster than before. Besides the advance of technology, the mobility of capital market and political tendency which promote the relocation of people more frequently in order to pursue better living conditions. St Louis, as a city has been affected by this trends. I want to design a building that bears the history and information of countless families in Missouri, protect and show the traces of their history, and to commemorate, research, and share their happiness and sorrow in this land.

My site is located in the middle of Porter Park, on the north of Forest park. DeBeliviere Ave connects the two parks as an east and west axis. Porter Park is a line park along this axis. The Missouri History Museum is located at the beginning of DeBeliviere Ave on Forest park, which tells the story of St Louis and Missouri. The new museum is located at the end of DeBeliviere Ave will show the stories of the people living in St Louis and Missouri.

Based on the characteristics of the site, the new museum is designed as a translucent wall in the middle of Porter Park. The ground level is left for public use as part of park, people can go back and forth through the building in the park. Also, the ground level as a cross area of building and park allows for more activities related to information. The idea of family trees form this translucent wall, and “tree” itself as a carrier for information and architectural functions, people can use the area under its canopy,. On the canopy, it for people research and share the information. The relationship of each “tree” with the translucent “tree wall” as an analogy of the relationship of each family to the city.

Location: Chicago, US, 2016 Spring[Individual] 
Studio Instructor: Philip Holden    
Rhino, Grasshopper, Autocad, Vray, Ps, Ai
 

Global city provides more convenience life and more possibilities to people. At the same time, it also provides the dark side. Michigan Avenue as a major street in Chicago is a good representative of this phenomenon.  Michigan Avenue runs from south to north and goes through Chicago River. The north part of Michigan Avenue called as "Magnificent Mile" because it contains a mixture of upscale department stores, restaurant, high-end retailers, office buildings and hotels, and caters primarily to tourists and the affluent."Magnificent Mile" is double levels street, the ground level is the shopping area which represents the prosperous part of the city; the underground level is more for circulations and the entrances for services, parking lots, it is dark and less people, many crime happens in there. 

My site is Pioneer Court Plaza located at the beginning of  "Magnificent Mile", The south of the plaza is Chicago River, the west of the plaza is "Mag Mile". People always been attractive by the shopping area in north, the plaza presents as circulation. The double level height of Michigan Avenue increase the distance between the plaza and river, people has to walk long distance to the riverfront. 

Therefore, the idea is the theater as a connection in both elevation and plan. In elevation, it connects the ground level and underground level of Michigan Ave. In plan, it connects the city blocks and riverfront. People can go to the theater lobby or riverfront through ground level and underground level. Parts of the office and flier of theater can extent from underground to plaza for skylight and plaza facilities. Because of the original column grid underground, the relationship between the column grid and space also a main point for this design.
 

Location: St Louis, US, 2015 Fall [Individual] 
Instructor: Nanako Umemoto[Very Fast Airport Studio]   
Rhino, Grasshopper, Tspline, Autocad, Vray, Ps, Ai 

Vary Fast Airport is a project using a design method which opposes modern architectural design method “ Form follows function”, it can be called “ Function follows form”. 

The main purples of this study is using the plastic milk bottle as a tool, to create the space more flexible than other method.  Then generating a strucutre can help to create the space, at the same time to provide more possibilities.I started by researching characteristics of plastic milk bottles, creating a special form, then changing it into usable space, and finally figuring out a structure system to finish the whole buildings.Then I started from taking off all the non-structured parts of the bottle, the remaining parts changed into flexible form, which allows me to change it into different frame shapes. I used the balloon as the method to measure and divide the space inside this frame. In function they are entrance lobby, check-in area, boarding gate, waiting area, etc. Space truss is used as the main structure to hold the whole building, also connecting the double facades, the “bottle” frame and the “balloon” surface. This structure provided environmental system solution and the transfer of baggage.

Through this design method I discovered more interesting and potential spaces by opposing the normal manner of thinking.

Location: Helsinki, Finland, 2015 Spring [Individual] 
Instructor: ALA Architect [Study Aboard Semester]   
Rhino, Revit, Grasshopper, Autocad, Vray, Ps, Ai
 

Combining multiple functions into one architecture has become popular nowadays because of the highly speed of people's life and their need of a space to conduct more activities. How to face this challenge and make the combination both functional and spacial is the main goal for this project.

The project is locate in the center of Helsinki, Finland. Where having a bath and sauna is a great joy for people after work. So the swimming hall is a suitable place to create a water world beyond this joy. The swimming hall include a group of normal swimming pools, bath and sauna, but also has two additional functions: water cinema and pet pools. 

The site is a rectangular sites with two parts standing on the both sides of a crossing street. I keep the original function on the east side, a local supermarket Alpha. The main entrance is on the west side of street. The two parts of the building connect on the third level as a bridge. In plan, it concave beyond the street to create a gesture for the urban pattern and also allows more sunlight into the street.

Three different group of users: Customer, staff and pets, have their own circulations. Showing on the left. Customers with pets use a separate circulation int he ground floor lobby then meet again in the pets pool. Customers without pets can directly go to the water activities: the water spa along the long window on the third floor is for friends to meet and chart with each other, and the coffee bar nearby is also there to serve. The water cinema in the corner of the same floor, people lying on the water and watch the film on the ceiling. On the upper floor also the highest floor, the normal swimming pools surround the jumping pool, which allow people jump from the highest point of the building and view the city and the street, pursue the feeling of “Jumping into the city". The highest point also show as a convex on the elevation, which is a response to the concave gesture in the plan.

Location: Madrid, Spain  2014 Fall[Individual] 
Instructor: Javier Maroto
Rhino, Revit, Autocad, Vray, Ps, Ai 

The task is renovation of two abandoned buildings into a commercial and residential combination in the center of Madrid. The pattern of Madrid is a block grid created by horizontal and vertical streets, each block is an enclosure rectangle. My site is in one of these blocks. Four sides of this block are residential buildings, which surround two abandoned buildings. One of them is a concrete-column parking building with five levels and the other one is a steel structure factory with double height.

Based on my research of urban issues and culture of Madrid, my proposal is to keep part of the ground level of the original buildings, then combine them into an in-between space “Bazaar” including shopping, food, entertainment etc. The concrete structure (mainly for shopping) is more enclosed than the steel structure(more for the culture---having a drink on street). Opening the entrance of the block and connecting the building to the street allows the building not only to serve the residents in this block but also other citizens in the city. Above them is the landscape level extended from the ground, which mainly serves the people in the residential buildings at higher levels. Also the landscape separates the commercial and residential function vertically.

There are 9 buildings. Each building has 5 or 6 floors, each floor is one apartment but has different area for 1 or 2 people or family use. Apartment space is movable. The kitchen and toilet are in the center of the plan and also are the main structure with a stable function. The other spaces can be changed depending on people’s needs.

Location: St Louis, US  2013 Fall [Individual] 
Instructor: Lindersy Stouffer  [Academic Studio]   
Rhino, Autocad, Vray, Ps, Ai, Handdrawing

From the beginning for human beings, we have a complicate relationship with the other species in the earth, we want to close to them but at the same time we fear of them. From 2.5 million year ago when hominid ancestors first made tools which crafted pieces of stone found in eastern Africa, it shows the they began to attack the animals. Until now, the relationship between human and other species including we hunt, keep as pets or use for food —— “ dominate” and ‘be dominated.”

Actually the human being has more priority to the resources in the world because the intellIgent level, but the others right to live also important. In this research center, I want to setup a new relationship between human and other species, such as research wild animal in wildness, animal is freedom, but people are carefully to hind themselves from animals. Put this relationship in the architecture to generate an idea of hidden in building.

From study of habits and characteristics of swallow which like the lower water to drink, like stopped in woods and make nest on enclose space, like natural material and forest, I from a form which can attract swallow to like the building and nest on it, then extension this form to the whole building —— as the surrounding for swallow, the pond under building for swallow t use. Actually swallow stay in the outer space of the building and people surrounding by them.