Keiki Yunge Hu_Portfolio

PORTFOLIO

YUNGE (KEIKI) HU

Selected Works 2020-2024

Part I: Design Portfolio

Centering Maroon Practice

RootStock-ing with Regenerative Design

Studio: Urban Design Studio III - RESILIENT CARIBBEAN 2100, Columbia University

Location: East Portland, Jamaica

Team Project, 2024

The idea of rootstocking is to graft a new sapling onto old roots to create a stronger plant. In the same way, we hope to use education as a way to enhance existing maroon cultures, address the needs and concerns of the Maroons, and create opportunities from this strong foundation.

Our project seeks to become an extension of our experience, an educational fellowship headed by Maroons that stretches into the deeper reaches of the Blue Mountain and beyond, an initiative that serves as an alternative to extractive tourism, one that seeks to recenter maroon culture and promote mutual exchange to help these communities grow.

We hope that each user, despite their different backgrounds may find a passion for the local culture that can influence them positively, taking lessons of environmental management and culture heritage to continue their journey of stewardship as they help build their own communities when they return.

Maroon Community

Blue Mountains

Maroons History and Landscape

Maroon History Timeline

Climate and Cultural Immersion Fellowship

The program is exclusive, aiming to involve individuals identified as friends of the Maroons to protect their cultural and environmental heritage. It integrates education and tourism to preserve and uplift Maroon Culture through knowledge exchange, requiring an invitation process for entry into the Blue Mountain region.

Village as a Learning Hub and Living With The Maroons

Fellowship Journey - Forest Tour

Fellowship Journey - Forest Tour

Riverside Reflections and Journey through the Forest

02

Ripple

Bellowood Quarry

Studio: Urban Design Studio II - Atlanta After Property III, Columbia University

Location: Bellwood Quarry, Atlanta, Georgia Team Project, 2023

Property is traditionally seen as a parcel, structured through the lens of opportunistic development. The Bellwood Quarry in Atlanta was initially a site of extraction but has now been artificially included in the water infrastructure of the city.

This, along with the natural flow of Proctor Creek, has led static properties to be redefined by the dynamic, leading to ‘property’ itself to be a tenuous notion. After property, we turn to water to redefine demarcated land and bridge the chasms between those stewarding and those interacting with it. Land is shaped by a variety of actors who are a part of the natural ecosystem where man is no longer the primary driver of developing the land. The productivity of these systems determines the value of this land over the previously held notions of monetary worth. Here, the collective responsibility for shaping the land is borne by both human and non-human inhabitants, ushering in collective ownership that honors the interconnectedness of life forms.

Our appreciation of the cyclic nature of systems translates into a proposal of a series of water bodies, created through shallow excavations by collective effort from the neighborhood, reclaiming the act of excavation. The pools honor the natural ebb and flow of water and allow people to meander closer to the creek and quarry.

The Quarry as a static wound, bearing the weight of historic exploitation

The Quarry History

The Proctor Creek watershed and interdependence of ecosystems

The process of construction of ponds via community involvement

The research area with a fish breeding pond

Overview Rendering

Black Gold for Black Dirt 03

Studio: LA 6010 Core Studio, Cornell University

Location: Training Center Ln, New Hampton, New York

Independent Project, 2021

The Wallkill River, situated in the Black Dirt Region of the Hudson River estuary, suffers from the most degraded water quality among its tributaries. The pollution of the Wallkill River's water quality stems from various factors, with a significant factor being the unchecked dumping of animal excrement containing elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus into the water. Analyzing river water monitoring data alongside nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations highlights a clear trend: areas surrounding these farms exhibit markedly higher levels of these contaminants compared to other regions. This correlation underscores the direct link between heightened nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and th

The ideal location for the design site should be within a densely populated livestock farming area to streamline the centralized management and transportation of goods. Following a thorough field investigation, I identified an undeveloped public property owned by the Orange County government at 21 Training Center Ln as the optimal site. This location will serve as the central hub, offering essential services to surrounding towns in the vicinity.e deterioration of water quality in affected areas.

Project Proposal

The project's fundamental concept revolves around establishing a closed-loop management system that integrates processes from dairy farms to processing plants and back to agricultural use in the black soil region. The initial phase of this system involves collecting waste from dairy farms and transporting it to a centralized treatment facility. At this facility, a portion of the waste undergoes pyrolysis to produce biochar, while another portion is composted to create organic fertilizer. These products, biochar and organic fertilizer, are subsequently utilized in the adjacent black soil areas for crop cultivation and livestock feed.

Design Strategy

To mitigate these issues, this project proposes a centralized management approach for handling livestock and poultry manure from dairy farms. The objective is to repurpose this nutrient-rich material as fertilizer for the region's black soils. This dual-purpose strategy aims to bolster soil fertility, combat erosion, and importantly, safeguard the water quality of the rivers.

Display Screen

Renderings and detail design

Pyrolysis Equipments

According to the landform characteristics of the design site, the biogas digester and pyrolysis equipment are arranged in the flat area on the north side. The walkway is set in the hilly area on the south side, overlooking the entire treatment plant.

Rendering

The factory area is controlled through the monitoring APP, and the APP will also display the collection and processing process of animal waste, which can be used as popular science education for citizens.

Traverse 04

ULI Competition, Cornell University

Location: Old Oakland, Oakland, California Team Project, 2022

Old Oakland, as its name implies, has been recognized as an economically declined district of downtown Oakland. Our proposal, the Traverse, revitalizes this historic neighborhood and strengthens its connection to the city. Inspired by ribbons, our proposal demonstrates the bond between people and the environment. Traverse strives to build meaningful connections both internally and externally with its surrounding neighborhoods. This resilient neighborhood with high connectivity is a pleasant place to explore and traverse in Oakland.

Design Strategy

Development begins in Jefferson Park to the south to attract people to the area by providing under-the-highway retail development and pedestrian trails that connect the community from the north to south sides of the development blocked by the highway. The Traverse will be built in three phases over ten years, with 36 months dedicated to Phase I, 36 months for Phase II, and 48 months for Phase III.

Activity Diagram

Design Overview

Summary Pro Forma

Phase 1 Recognition: The site’s challenges and assets will be acknowledged and address the needs of Phase 2 Engagement: Opportunities for community inputs in the development process of the park will Phase 3 Integration: People of various interests, backgrounds, and experience groups will collaborate.

of the communities. The conceptand the importance of a sustainable lifestyle will be introduced. will be provided to allow for social and cultural exchange. collaborate. Relationships with nature and citywide connections will be encouraged.

Design Rendering

Constant Speed? Low Speed? Multi-Speed!

Maigaoqiao, Qixia District, Nanjing, China

Undergraduate Work, 2020, 2020 Asian Design Award

Mai Gao Qiao marks the northern origin point of Nanjing's inaugural subway line, Metro Line 1. However, the area faces challenges stemming from suburban infrastructure needing to adapt to rapid urban growth. This has resulted in a complex and often congested traffic network, causing frequent traffic jams.

The redesign focus of the Maigaoqiao station area revolves around integrating the existing three hospitals into a future-proof community framework. Key aspects of the renovation design include a three-dimensional traffic organization centered on the Maigaoqiao station, flexible spatial transformations, and the implementation of green corridors to enhance environmental quality.

*Excellence Award of 2020 Asian Design Award

Variant Walking Speed

After 20 consecutive days of site investigation, I recorded the current situation of the site as follows: With the continuous development of society, the urban space planned here in the last century has been unable to meet the needs of residents.

· Traffic chaos

· Space complex

· Disorderly parking

· More pollution

· Residential density

Green area

· Convenient life

· Residential area

· Exercise space

· Medical services

· cultural park · public space

· LOW SPEED

nursing homes

24 hours a day innovation park

pre-primary education

subway station

Commercial

· Emergency/Temporary ·

Design concept

· Working Day

Lot Design

· hospital path

· Holidays and Festivals

Before the Renovation

· Internal Structure

After the Renovation

Design Strategy

The site space design can be divided into four different types: the underground pedestrian space on the first floor, the ground space containing the transportation network on the second floor, the building structure on the third floor, and the ground track and elevated pedestrian bridge on the fourth floor. These spaces are connected in series through pedestrian passages to form a multifunctional urban complex.

After analyzing Mai Gao Qiao's to seamlessly integrate into ground design encompasses layouts, subway station arrangements, carefully integrated for maximum

Qiao's existing resources, the design aims the community's daily life. The aboveencompasses parking facilities, commercial street arrangements, and bus station designs, all maximum community utility.

Design for Multiple Speed: Commercial Street

Multi-function for Different Scenarios Explosion Diagram - 1F

Temporary and Emergency ·Working Day

Holiday and Festival

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, coinciding with the start of this project. This unique period prompted us to rethink site utilization under extreme conditions. I recognized heightened infection risks during routine and unmonitored consultations. Addressing health emergencies necessitated community-based isolation measures. The subsequent designs focused on enhancing responses to health crises.

Diagram - 2F

Diagram - 3F

Design for Multiple Speed: Parking Lot

Another factor contributing to traffic issues at the site is the demand for additional parking facilities. Many commuters park their cars nearby and use the subway for their daily commute. To address this need, I repurposed an abandoned office building into a parking structure. Positioned at the heart of the traffic hub, this building serves primarily as a parking facility. Its strategic location aims to provide not just parking convenience but also accessibility, establishing a comprehensive community parking system.