Sang Won Yoon_ Architectural Portfolio 2026

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MEDIUM

MATERIALIZING FORM

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What is considered a MEDIUM in Architectural Design? This question has always lingered with me throughout my career. My way of proposing a design is to explore how such a MEDIUM should be perceived by humanity. What is the boundary of a MEDIUM in Architecture? Is it just brick and mortar, or columns and beams? I strongly argue that the Architectural MEDIUM is never limited to any physical building material.

I consider that every element of this universe can be a building material, such as Time, steam, light, darkness, air, and noise. Their adaptability as an Architectural MEDIUM is limited only by how meticulously it has been portrayed. I strive to utilize these MEDIUMs so they can be perceived by people as part of a building. I also endeavor to show how a MEDIUM can carry a statement while being considered part of Architecture. Sometimes those statements can be satire or even an open question. When an issue or a question combines with the right MEDIUM, I believe the statement becomes louder and bolder. This philosophy guides my design process and is reflected in my portfolio.

I believe a design should be firm and bold. It should be obvious to the eye what the designer is trying to convey to the world. That argument is also translated into the layout of this portfolio. I wanted to demonstrate how two lines intersect to reveal a new shade of color, just like how an argument can intersect with a MEDIUM to create a statement. These intersections are not only presented in the layout but are also integral to my design projects. I always seek to find the right MEDIUM that can amplify my design statement, making it louder and bolder.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

ASSUMPTION RESEARCH

ROCKING CHAIR

Not all Architectural designs need to emit positivity or be entirely efficient. I believe Architecture can also be a MEDIUM to monumentalize emotions such as sadness, frustration, tiresomeness or satire. Architecture, at its core, is a vessel for storytelling; a language through which designers communicate ideas, emotions, and questions to society. It is this narrative potential that makes the MEDIUM so powerful and dynamic. Every designer should and must have a voice of their own. Thus, I have found my voice through the MEDIUM

By challenging the conventional boundaries of the Architectural MEDIUM, I aim to expand the horizon of what constitutes building material and how it interacts with the human experience. The MEDIUMs I choose are not random; they are deliberate choices that align with the themes and issues I wish to address. For example, the use of light to evoke spirituality or the incorporation of sound to amplify an emotional response are ways I manipulate these elements to create impactful designs.

This ideology transcends traditional norms, urging us to look beyond physicality and embrace the intangible. My work seeks to provoke thought, incite dialogue, and challenge perceptions, demonstrating how Architecture can be a profound MEDIUM for cultural and emotional expression. It is through this lens that I approach every project, ensuring that the interplay between form, function, and message is both meaningful and resonant. Just be Bold and Loud

1. CENTURY TOWER

Time is one attribute to this universe that never gets changed or altered. However, the precence of this medium becomes too obvious sometimes, people stop appreciating the greatness of it. What if progression of time is visually present to one another? Evolution of time is invisible to the naked eye, however it could be seen with combination of another medium, steam.

ENCLOSED OBSERVATION DECK

OBSERVATION DECK

SITE ANALYSIS

SITE RESEARCH

INTERIOR RENDER

PERSPECTIVE

OBSERVATORY PATH

PROGRAMS

OBSERVATION LOUNGE [7F,8F] TOWER 1,2

CAFE [2F,3F] TOWER 2

PLANTARIUM [3F,4F] TOWER 1,2

WELCOME CENTER [1F] TOWER 2

ELEVATION FLOOR PLAN

CLOSURE 1.

PROGRAM

Due to the mother nature, There is close to infinite amount of steam produced underground of Iceland. Coexistance of two continental techtonic plates next to each other, this country is gifted with endless active volcanic activity. Century Tower, accomodates this nature attribute, steam, to visually present the evolution of time. Not only so, With the visual effect created by steam, the two towers can be seen from far away and produce self sustainable energy throughout the system. By that a Steam Skyscraper is built with less than 10 floors.

2.

Housing crisis has been the recurring problem within New York City. However, the city itself is running out of occupiable area to accommodate such densely increasing population. This project suggests a solution to this housing problem by utilizing the unusable space above the holdout buildings situated abundantly in NYC. Transforming the affordance of unoccupiable space into occupiable with the ease of deployability and transportability.

PERSPECTIVE RENDER + HEIGHT MAP

DEPLOYMENT DIAGRAM

DEPLOYMENT

AXONOMETRIC & DETAILED DRAWINGS

SECTION PERSPECTIVE

Not everyone can attend chapel service Sunday mornings. People work at various times of the day. Why should prayers only be made under the bright light? Pray under the silent night sky to make your prayers be heard loud to God. Ambiance and quietness blends in with the darkness, suggesting perfect space for those with sincere and genuine prayer. Chapel for people who shall be late in the day of their schedule.

LIGHT BEHAVIOR

MATERIALIZING LIGHT

WHEN IT BECOMES DARK 3.

PROGRAM

The facade or envelope of this ambiant project only reveals itself when the sun goes down. By that it attracts people seeking to worship at tardy times. This monunumental chapel softly brightens up the atmostphere at this darkest area of St. Louis.

A man made pond reflects the warm light emitted from the building, amplifying the warm light to extend even furthur.

Imagine worshipping around the quiet light, under the dark sky. Maybe its too quiet that the voices can be heard even further and louder than daytime.

CHAPEL, SKETCH MODEL

CONCEPT PROPOSAL 3.

PERSPECTIVE SECTION VIEW PERSPECTIVE RENDER

4. MATERIALIZING FORM

The primary goal of this project is to investigate material behaviors and digital fabrication methodologies. The ten assembled components interlock and anchor to a central element within the model. This configuration required every piece to be oriented to achieve weight balance, allowing opposing elements to counteract one another. Through calibration, the structure creates the illusion of floating components throughout the model.

GLAMOUR MODEL VIEW

AXONOMETRIC DRAWINGS

Noise pollution is one of the biggest stress factors in modern era. The issue exacerbates as one goes closer to the urban area. St. Louis is notorious for its random and aggressive placements of highways. In fact, highways are one of the biggest factor that produces noise pollution. These loud beasts screams out noises 24/7 to the near residential areas. Goal of this project is to reflect those noises back to the highway and provide tranquility around those noisy beasts while screaming “No More Highways.”

ARCH 212. SPRING 2017 / ANNA IVES / GREENHOUSE PROJECT / ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

SOFTWARE: ADOBE SUITE, RHINO, D5, LUMION

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

NOISE POLLUTION SITE MAP/SKETCH MODEL

CONTEXT

This unique community center / vegetation tower reflects the noise back to the screaming highway with its aggressive sound proofing material adaptation. This sound proofing directly reflect the noise back to the highway. By this, it achieves abolute tranquility inside the structure.

PERSPECTIVE RENDER

Imagine inhabiting a space of tranquility, immersed in soft warm light, within a site once dominated by relentless highway noise that penetrated the surrounding residential area. Wall of Tranquility transforms this condition into a sanctuary through a dual-layered shell that forms an inhabitable void where calibrated panels reflect, absorb, and dissipate sound, allowing silence to become the primary spatial material.

The enveloping module supports a communal garden nourished by rainwater collection, while angled surfaces redirect sound and sunlight deep into the interior. The project becomes both a refuge from noise and a sustainable system where architecture, environment, and community converge to produce urban calm.

INTERIOR VS EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE

AXONOMETRIC

STRUCTURE

One might say that someone is like an oxygen. This usually translates that the one is always present where ever they go. Air is alway there and we know it. Air doesn’t have form or rigidity, but has volume. What if air could be utilized to form a structure? All it needs is a simple algorithm and structure that can contain the air’s form as solid. Enforcing and controlling air is the matter of issue.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

PHASE 1 PHASE 2

PHASE 3 PHASE 4 PHASE 5

a. STARTING FROM TRASH

PHASE 2

b. ABSTRACTING THE FORM

c. DISCOVERING PATTERN

VARIOUS INTERACTIONS

CREATING THE VOID

TRANSFERRING ENVELOPE

TRACING THE FOLD:

CREATING BASE STRUCTURE:

WRINKLES:

This Confidential Data Center was done during my time of practice in HKS.Inc. Project consists an overall area of 107,760 sqft including an administrative space and a lobby. Project documentation including programming, rendering, and documentation was soley handled by myself with the coach of the Project Architect, Amy Anderson. Further details are to be nondisclosed by the client’s needs.

This Confidential Data Center was done during my time of practice in HKS.Inc. Project documentation including programming, rendering, and documentation was soley handled by myself with the coach of the Project Architect, Prince Ambooken. This is a New build project with the client having no design basis template. 20+ project schemes were produced to suggest a final design to the client. Total Area of this project was 500,000 square ft with inclusion of the Administrative space. Further details are to be nondisclosed.

What do we learn more from; extensive research drawn from external sources, or hypotheses carefully constructed through pure assumption? This project explores a pre-existing building through an extremely unique approach. A series of five photographs of a building was provided without any additional context or information. As a group, we were not allowed to conduct any further research on the building. Working solely through observation and assumption, the goal of this project was to extract as much information as possible from the images and develop the most accurate hypothesis of how the building is structured. Marche, Kengo Kuma

SOFTWARE: RHINO, ADOBE SUITE

9. ROCKING CHAIR

Rocking chair was designed and crafted in the woodshop to research the correspondence between ergonomics and weight distribution. Center of the mass of the chair is structurally aligned with human body to perform a stable rocking gesture. The specific chair was also designed with consideration of saving material. The final product was made with 2 5ft x 5ft x .5in plywood and 10ft of 1in diameter rod.

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