PORTFOLIO - Yang(Kristen) Meng - Architectural and Computational Design
Yang(Kristen) Meng
I am a recent graduate with a Master of Science in Design, specializing in Robotics and Autonomous Systems from the University of Pennsylvania. My academic journey began with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture, where I developed a strong foundation in architectural design and cultivated a passion for integrating computational design and AI technologies into the field.
During my six years of architectural studies, I was deeply involved in various design projects that required innovative solutions and creative thinking. This experience sparked my interest in how new technologies can transform traditional architectural practices. I have since focused on enhancing my skills in Rhino, Grasshopper, Keyshot, Lumion, Revit, and visualization, leveraging these tools to present complex materials clearly and persuasively. My aspiration is to continue exploring the intersection of architecture, technology, and sustainability. I aim to contribute to the development of intelligent design solutions that push the boundaries of traditional architecture and create innovative, eco-friendly structures.
University of Pennsylvania +1.445.208.0466 | yangmengbiz@outlook.com yangmengbiz@outlook.com
DE-LAMINAS
Ski Cabin design: 3D Spatial Structures Through Graded Timber Laminas
03
Co-living Artistic Village
A means of revitalizing the countryside based on the sharing economy
Memory Weaving Walls Museum
Weave history and the collective memory of the inhabitants into the texture of the ruins’ walls
Memo - Portugal Elderly Home Design 02 Encounter A Boutique Hotel Design. A Confluence of Time and Space 04
Material Agencies: Maze of Imagination
01
DE-LAMINAS
3D Spatial Structures Through Graded Timber Laminas
Abstract: As architectural designs increasingly embrace complex, curved forms, traditional wood construction methods often prove inadequate. This project explores creating 3D spatial structures through graded timber laminas, focusing on lamination, treelike structures, and wood bending, while also investigating the application of robotics in fabrication. The main challenge was achieving 3D curvature by dividing the process into two planar bendings. We designed and validated a prototype, demonstrating the potential for sustainable and customizable wood structures in future architectural applications.
Group Work with Kjo Zhuang, Andres Feng Academic project, 2023
Hyphothetical location
5-
1- Left: Wooden Boat Construction / Right: Mudhif Houses. Almusaed, et.al (2015). “Building Materials in Eco-Energy Houses from Iraq and Iran."
2- Georges Candilis and Anja Blomstedt: Habitable Module (1972).
3- Cellules standard en polyester stratifié. Chanéac. Collection Frac Centre (1960-1971)
4- Tree-inspired dendriforms and fractal-like branching structures in architecture
Test of Bending wood
Fabricated Prototype Connections
3D Curvature
2D Curvature
Lamination
Combined different wood types based on their properties, then laminated, bent, sliced, and soaked them for a second bending, using molds and clamps for fixation.
Connection design
Bending wood
Wooden block
Prefabricated connections
3D printed base
Steel rod (connected to the base)
Fabrication Process
3D TWISTING 2D BENDING
Outside: O (Oak) Middle : M (Maple) Loops : P (Pine)
Stable Diffusion with Control Net
Encounter
A Boutique Hotel Design on Wangfujing Street
A Confluence of Time and Space in the Urban Landscape
The design aims to create a four-star business hotel that prioritizes guest comfort while offering unique leisure amenities and communal spaces for interaction. The title "Encounter" is inspired by the concept of meaningful connections and shared experiences. Situated on Wangfujing Street, this hotel serves as a contemporary landmark, blending seamlessly into its urban surroundings.
Group Work with Jiexing Wang, Haolei Qiu Academic project, 2021
Location: Beijing, China
Form generation
形体生成 Form generation
形体生成
The site, near an intersection, features stunning views of the Wangfujing block and the Forbidden City to the west. To enhance these vistas, the high-rise is strategically recessed on its western side, with shared atriums and rest areas, emphasizing landscape inclusivity and sharing through refined structures and panoramic spaces.
Within these categories, there are three variations of Standard Double Rooms, two types of Business Suites, and two types of Deluxe Suites.
(a) Double Rooms
Quenn Rooms
(d) Deluxe Suites
(c) Business Suites
Section I-I
Section II-II
Space function analysis
The design intends to soften the boundary between public and private, while ensuring the privacy of guest rooms, creating more public spaces with transparent sightlines and communication.
The design intends to soften the boundary between public and private, while ensuring the privacy of guest rooms, creating more public spaces with transparent sightlines and
Visitor Leisure
Co-living Artistic Village
A means of revitalizing the countryside based on the sharing economy
New village construction in China aims to integrate natural villages into cohesive residential areas. However, many projects face challenges, such as excessive reliance on rental income. Our three-stage design approach seeks to address these issues by fostering collaboration between villagers and artists, promoting sustainable development, and reducing dependence on rental housing.
Group Work with Yuanzhen Gu Academic project, 2021 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, China
Three-stage design Ground floor plan
Creative industries are inserted, allowing villagers to gradually break away from the original single economic dependence.
STEP0
Current industry
STEP1
Renovate part of the house
STEP2
Place in the gallery
STEP3
Extended industry
Building renovation
Provide customized modification plans to allow artists and villagers to rebuild their houses according to the type of art industry they want to participate in.
Original plan
Street space effect
Traffic space construction
The external space uses a steel structure as the skeleton, and the outdoor connecting platform is constructed in the simplest and quickest way, so that the street space is minimally affected during the single reconstruction process.
Industry streamline
The type of industry derived from the art industry extends a new industry
Optimizing street space
Optimize existing street spaces based on six street renovation types. The transformed street space will be suitable for the generation and conduct of various artistic activities, and the streets full of artistic atmosphere will also attract villagers, artists and tourists, bringing vitality to the village.
Memory Weaving Walls Museum
Weave history and the collective memory of the inhabitants into the texture of the ruins’ walls
The starting point of the design lies in the interpretation of the site: the changes in the walls within the site, people's living memories and future possibilities. The design uses six events and scenarios to weave historical memories and modern activities into the fabric of the walls. The linear space intertwined between the new wall and the old wall will bring a unique experience of the historical and cultural atmosphere of the city wall to the surrounding residents and tourists.
Individual Work
Academic project
Instructor: Bin Hu
Date: Jun. 2021
Location: Beijing, China
The site is located in the Ancient City Wall Park in Beijing, China. For nearby travelers arriving in Beijing by train, this area will give them an important impression of city walls.
Design generation
[STEP 0] Ruins of Ming city wall
The Ming City Wall is about 10 meters high, and the design site is located on the outside of the city wall, which is currently a linear park with lush trees, where residents and tourists often chat, sing and take pictures.
[STEP 1] Setting a new wall
Creating a connection with the old wall by designing a "new city wall". This connection is not only reflected in the form, but also create an atmosphere of coexistence between the old and the new under the shared space of the museum and the wall.
[STEP 2] Blurring the inside and outside
In linear space, the arrangement of space will naturally produce a sense of sequence, which can respond well to the changes of time and show the development of the wall from ancient to modern.
[STEP 3] Building interrmediary spaces
The space between is shaped into an exhibition hall for linear tours, as well as related functions such as libraries, cafes, and tea houses. The paths during the tour are carefully planned and lead up to the city walls.
Visiting sequences
The plan is unfolded linearly, with some outdoor activities or other residential spaces in addition to the main tour flow. The people facing the building are mainly divided into two categories, tourists who get off the train at the station and local residents who come to visit, and the space that can stay outside the orderly tour flow provides opportunities for these two groups of people to spontaneously move and interact with each other.
The towering wall form surrounded by the exhibition hall indicates the most practical defensive role of the wall in ancient times.
On one side of the space is a large window, through which people can see the stage, and on the other side is the exhibition hall's description and display of ancient scenes.
03 Highlands overlooking 02 Ancient stage 01 Fortress of defense
Through the surrounding stairs, people can personally experience climbing and looking, and recall the visual experience of the wall in the past.
The few remaining walls in the scene have lost their concrete meanings, suggesting that the walls are losing their specific functions in the transitional period of development.
05 Broken walls 04 Flowing history
The broken wall shows the wall demolished due to the construction of the railway, and also makes people reflect on the contradiction and relationship between ancient relics and urban development.
06 New culture under the walls
The atmosphere of the exhibition hall space is creating a modern background, and the wall is playing a new urban function, such as providing public activities, promoting heritage culture, etc.
Memo - The Final Recollections
Portugal Elderly Home Design
Individual Work, Academic project, 2023, Location: Leiria, Portugal
Floor Plans Site Plan
Functional Circulation Analysis
Thermomorph
Localized Multi-Pass Robotic Thermoforming Group Work with
Prototype fabrication
Time and energy consumption of each panel of the prototype
Claudia, Sizhe Wang, Academic project, 2024
Multi-part assembled prototype design
We applied the developed localized heating and robotic manipulation thermoforming process to a multipart prototype measuring 1.6m in height and 0.8m in width, consisting of five custom-shaped and formed PETG sheets. Each panel underwent between 5 and 7 local robotic thermoforming operations.
Augmented reality (AR) in assembly
AR was explored as a means to support human assembly operations. We imported our simulation 3D models into Unity with a series of joints. This Unity model was exported to the Touch Base AR software which uses ARKit and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for 3D cartesian position tracking.
Micro-factory application
Material Agencies: Maze of Imagination
Robotic 3D Clay Printing - Crafting Fused Polyhedra
Group Work with Sizhe Wang, Riddharth, Shenaia, Academic project, 2023
Individual Work
My initial model features a layered growth effect on the facade, resembling ascending pyramids. I learned to 3D print simple polygons. During block segmentation and micro-relief design, I encountered the challenge of single slopes failing to support the structure of the second layer.
Micro-relief design
Through the integration of deep learning, we explore AI-generated textile patterns for micro-relief design, offering alternative interpretations to the conventional geometric logic. These designs challenge the rigidity of ceramic bricks, potentially transitioning into a realm of expressive textile lightness.
Revolving
People’s identity transformation and self-reflection in the development of productive forces
After 1949, rural China underwent earth-shaking changes. In the 50 years from 1950 to 2000, the development of science and technology and the times brought about changes in productivity. When people face such changes, they have various emotions such as blindness, fanaticism, and hesitation. Mo Yan's novel "Life and Death Fatigue" observes and records the impact of this history on people's lives through the perspective of animals. Starting from the translation of the novel scenario, the design attempts to look at people's situation and self-perception in the process of productivity change from the history of China from 1950 to 2000, and reproduce people's inner entanglements in a reflective way, so as to provide self-reflection methods for the changes to be faced in the future.
Selected works 2018-2021
Location:
Date: Jun. 2019
3.4.Creative sketching. Date: Mar. 2019
5.Photography.
Location: Apple store.
Date: May. 2019
1.2. Sketches: The current situation of the houses in Shuiyu Village.
