cxl0027cxl@gmail.com xinleic@umich.edu (904)-429-8705 More work on my portfolio website:
2024 FALL INSTITUTION STUDIO
URBAN ESPIONAGE CINEMA
This movie theater is located at the intersection of S 1st St and W William St, the transition area between the residential and downtown areas of Ann Arbor. I want to emphasize the movie theater’s gathering characteristic to make it a new gathering and socialized space for the city that better connects the residential area to downtown. Through several design moves, I also want to blend the theater with the surrounding environment instead of introducing a new structure abruptly departing from the existing context.
The site is unique as the whole block has significant height change with stiff slope; the west side is lower side, and the east is higher, the whole height difference is around 22 ft
The main structure below the slope reflects the industrial-style building Liberty Research Annex across the street; the west facade also uses a mirror facade surface to reflect the condition.
South side green belt next to the railroad track expands to connect to the green on-site to form an urban green space to provides gathering space as well as natural sound and air filters for the movie theater.
On the east, above the stiff slope, I repurposed an existing building and connected it with a new building structure that uses similar styles as existing residential buildings to blend in the existing condition.
Other accessible routes are added to better connect the movie theater to the rest of the block, both above and below the stiff slope. the connecting part toward the northeast is also used as an outdoor theater.
The arrangement of the auditorium and theater lobby ceiling design introduces narrow hallways to the open lobby and narrow doorways to enter the opened auditorium. These moves introduce a unique spatial experience of a a sequence of spatial compression and tension es for the space’s occupants.
In order to keep this space as a gathering space not just for the movie audiences, urban green space is added to provide gathering space for the public, and in order to make up for the space the theater takes up on the ground floor, the roof of the theater is turned into occupiable roof garden with accessible route, and connecting the other side of block above the small hill
2024 WINTER SITUATION STUDIO
CARDBOARD OUTLOOK
This visitor center is located at Sokolowski’s Overlook in Cleveland. It also serves as a library branch of the Cleveland Public Library system. In this project, I explore new possibilities for using cardboard in architecture. Cardboards are the main material and component for the project. I envision the visitor center helping people see cardboard differently and understand that it can do more than meet the eye.
In the design, cardboard assembly is applied in different scales and aspects. Cardboard can be used as objects, structure parts, and other function components. The bigger scale parts will be directly visible, and the smaller scale can directly interact. One of the examples is that all mezzanine levels in the building are mainly supported by cardboard assembly structures.
The other concept is to make all these as visible as possible, so the building’s enclosure will be a simple, lightweight, translucent envelope that does not directly relate to the main structure.
