Yuhan Chen. M.Arch' 25 Rice Architecture.

physical/immaterial :

The selected projects aim to capture the essence of both the tangible and intangible aspects of space. Yuhan endeavors to navigate the interplay between the physical manifestations of architecture and the profound, humanitarian ideologies that underpin design choices.

contents

Gathering Tides

Transitional Housing for Mothers Houston, 2023 fall

Nested “L“s

Small Batch Compound Houston, 2022 spring

Common Care

Urban Housing for Care Workers Houston, 2023 spring

“Split“ House

Single Family House

Houston, 2022 fall

Gathering Tides

Transitional Housing for Single Mothers

Houston, 2023 fall

Instructor: Mark Wamble

Partner: So Min Park

Role: Site massing, plan+section drawings, renderings, physical model prep

Gathering Tides is a collection of buildings which are aesthetically and structurally derived from the osagian aluminum canoe of 1976. These stretched aluminum canoes are known for their durability and longevity, characteristics that we have transferred to our design of the cluster of services and housing. The base body –the hull– is made by a long thin piece of aluminum alloy that is stretched onto a mold with a hydraulic machine to create one half of the whole. The stretching creates a continuous single curvature in the new form of the alloy, applying the primary degree of strength. This technology is transferred to the design of these buildings, where the panels are stretched onto a mold, giving them curvature and strength. Then, they are connected to its adjacent panels in an alternating fashion that creates a visual ripple effect of undulating surfaces. How these panels are connected works similarly to how two parts of the boat are fastened together. The keel of the boat is now the ribs of the panels, where every panel is connected to each other.

Part2, Iterations

from Root Form to Stress Model

a. diagram of single curvature, andulating surfaces and robust opening profiles

b. roof form model

c. test model of stress model(thermal formed plastic sheets and pop riveting)

d. stress model, roof and overall (thermal formed plastic sheets + pop riveting)

This model highlighted the 2 major structures: 3d printed part, painted in dark color, and the thermal formed plastic sheet. Large amount of effort was spent on pop riveting the plastic panels. The two parts work together - the columns bind the panels together, while the undulating panels provide structural soundness.

1/8’’=1’ +sectionsplans

1/20’’=1’ frame plan

1/40’’=1’ site plan

1/2’’=1’ detail section

detail A

perforated metal panel

T-bar ribs

interior flooring

exterior flooring

ceiling finish

perforated aluminum panel

a. double curvature in panels b. curvature in bracing c. deflection management

exterior wall finish insulation

interior wall finish

d. changes in amplitude e. variations in thickness of amplitude

detail B

mullion

glass facade

structural column

glass facade walkway

permeable sand foundation carton forms

A. Roof Panel

B. Drain

C. Cricket

D. Vapor Barrier

E. Cable Connection from Shell to Parapet

F. Reinforcement T-Bar

G. Neoprene

H. Parapet

I. Flanged Metal Plate

J. Perforated Aluminum Panel

A. Flooring

B. Floor Joists

C. Perforated Aluminum Panel

D. Concrete Slab

E. Reinforcement Frame

F. Metal L Bar

G. Flanged Tie Plate

H. Insulation

I. ReinforcementT Bar

J. Metal L Bar

K. Soffit Finish

EXPLODED MODULE

A: Water Management, Cricket that rests on top of the Roof Module

B: Roof Assembly, Stretched Aluminum Panel that inhibits a parapet underneath

C: Floor Assembly, Concrete slab that extends out with a covered soffit where a cantilever is necessary

D: Wall Assembly, Stretched Aluminum panels that are air tight, water tight, lined with neoprene

Assembly D, the wall assembly, shows the potential of the stretched aluminum technology in a sustainable fashion. The panels provide structure and envelope to the building, while being air tight and water tight to reduce the amount of materials necessary for envelope construction in a residential interior condition.

A similar situation can be seen for the roof assembly as well.

02

Nested “L’’s

Small-Batch Compound

Houston, 2022 spring

Instructor: Mark Wamble

The idea of a compound, large or small, is shaped by the organization of diverse activities distributed across discreet zones within a single site and with limited and controlled orientation to the outside. Often, these activities are arranged with a strong inward focus by way of a common space, or set of common spaces, designed to connect and mediate the interaction of internal activities. The earliest surviving examples of the compound typology in North America are missions and haciendas found in rural settings where a range of essential tasks are performed, and exposure to the “outside” is necessarily limited. The objective of this studio is to examine and transpose the compound type to an established urban setting.

In this project, this specific manufacturing program is Texas Barbeque, one local activity that brings people together. Other programs for this mixed-use building include retail, commercial offices and residential units.

The project starts off by researching into “3 transactions: the food manufacturing, the food comsumption, and the food delivery“ and their spatial relationships. The research was summerized as a product development diagram, where i studied the flow and processes of food manufacturing and how it informs spatial arrangements and circulation.

Another requirement is that the scheme can be adapted to different sites. So the formal scheme of 2 nested “L“s which form an atrium and an outdoor courtyard was created. This form can easily be duplicated and scaled.

The overlap of programs:

The urban compound should not be enclosed but engaging. In this project, how to overlap the programs or the experiences is an architectural position. By allocating the cores and the circulation strategically, the programs are ensured of lighting condition and accessibility.

The shifting of the “L“s:

By shifting the “L“s in slight angles in plans and by half floor in the section, the form creates terraces and bridges while at the same time allows for a dynamic urban facade. This rendering shows how the two parts are connected by conditioned stairs. and this atrium is iluminated with soft skylight filtered by the rainscreen on top.

A sectional design:

This project is a sectional project as well. The atrium does not start from the ground floor but from the second floor, forming the connection between food manufacturing and restaurants on the ground floor. This move creates a barrier for the programs above and engages the streets of the city by creating a visual connection between pedestrians and food production.

Common Care

urban housing for care workers

Houston, 2023 spring

Instructor: brittany utting

teammate: vinati kokal

role in team: digital modeling, section drawings, renderings, section model

Collective space emerges ancillary to both community-oriented programming and therapy-based practices in our project. The scheme unfurls as a series of cluster blocks that interact with each other through a series of micro and macros courtyards, along with a series of thresholds manifesting as terraces and circulation spaces. Our most pronounced threshold exists as a light, unconditioned trellis system that wraps around our blocks, forming a more porous connection between the housing blocks and city. This frame expands and contracts to house more urban, public programming such as gyms, markets and cafes, and sometimes spills into the housing cluster as a set of pavilions as collective kitchens, community theaters and collective laundry. Contesting the scale of the buildings in the Texas Medical Center, alongside Denisse Scott Brown’s concept of the groundscraper, our scheme is low lying, and strongly belongs to the ground.

This projects starts from researching the urbanism of Texas Medical Center, where large-scale institutions take place and an urbanism within the city of Houston was formed. Through mapping and circulation analysis, the TMC urbanism can be understood in two parts: its diversion from the urban grid pattern, and its interface that is designed to cater towards patients. From the analysis, it can be understood that the TMC has become a city within the larger city, with its closed interface toward the major roads and entrances toward the inner side of the area. The land division does not follow a specific pattern but keeps expanding historically, while buildings are connected through sky bridges.

type 1 - L

Housing blocks are organized under four types, each of which are variations of the courtyard topology, varying in producing different connections both within the site and with the urban surroundings. Each type also frames a different form of collective care, becoming unique within the massing of the site.

The housing units within the four types are based on a 15’ by 15’ module that either forms a four-square unit with walls that form a cross in the centre, with circulation along the perimeter of the cross or an open plan, two square loft unit, with a double height living space. The thresholds within these units manifest as a double layered balcony with mis-aligned, playful openings that can be registered on the ceramic tile façade.

The first type consists of two intersection L’s that form a courtyard in the centre. This type is the most enclosed and forms intimate, , internalized connections amongst the units overlooking the courtyard space. It consists of two circulation cores. In this type, the roof garden becomes the primary collective space.

The second type fuses the collective with the private, housing a workshop space at the core of its form, with a greenhouse above it. Meant to serve more as a live work model, it consists of smaller loft units meant for younger residents.

The third is a strongly carved type, and creates a stronger connection to the site. It consists of a therapy pool on the ground floor, and is meant to house more accessible units. As you can see in the plan, you can enter each unit not only through the kitchen, but also through the bathroom. This forms a direct connection between the collective pool and the private, making the units more accessible for the elderly, or for people with disabilities.

The last type is a one that explodes the density of the housing complex, and creates an opportunity for openness and interaction. As mentioned earlier, these pavilions become community spaces for the residents of the housing village, and manifest as collective kitchens, laundry spaces and theatres.

Renderings and models highlight two narratives of the project:

The first is expression through colour, and creating bold legibility through a palette of green. A different shade of green ceramic tile is used to highlight the balconies or thresholds, where the outer layer creates a more intimate and sheltered unconditioned space for some of the units.

And lastly, the project is partly an architectural intervention, but also a strong landscape intervention, where we wanted to create an overgrown garden that almost all encompasses the housing blocks. The lack of green space in the TMC is something we wanted to address, and therefore the garden not only becomes a space for the exchange of knowledge through agro and horticultural practices, but also becomes a sort of therapeutic third space within the TMC.

“Split’’ house

single family house with mass timber technology

Houston, 2022 fall

Instructor: jesus vassallo

teammate: yufei wang, nino chen

role in team: schematic design, plan and detail drawings, renderings

A Climate House is designed to cater for Houston’s hot, humid summer and warm winter. Strategy for preventing flooding is developed as a lifted base system. Diagrammatically, the house is split into two bays - one for support programs and rooms that are traditionally dark: staircase, bathroom and laundry, and the other half for the main living space: dinning room, living room, bedrooms.

A “skirt” as a semi-outdoor deck surrounds an enclosed core, becoming the main form of this house. The core part of the house is minimal, providing the basic needs of the family especially during the summer.

In terms of construction, a modular structural system is designed to inform the postion of the base and the column grid.

EXPLODED AXON OF JOINTS 1’-0” = 1/2”

1 drip edge

2 rolling curtain

3 corrugated metal

4 water proof

5 nail

6 purlin

DETAIL OF ROOF 1’-0” = 1”

1 rigid insulation, 1”

2 glulam post, 9” x 9”

3 CLT wall, 4”

4 cork insulation, 6”

5 wood stud, 2”x 6”

6 water proof

7 furring strip

8 wood cladding

DETAIL OF THE POST AND WALLS

1 aluminum frame

2 skylight glazing, 1”

3 air gap, 3”

4 metal copping

5 wood blocking, 2” x 12”

6 wood cladding, 1”

7 furring strip

8 water proof

9 cork insulation, 6”

10 rigid insulation, 1“

11 glulam beam, 9” x 12”

12 wood stud, 2” x 6”

13 CLT wall, 4”

DETAIL OF SKYLIGHT AND PARAPET 1’-0” = 1”

DETAIL OF GROUND FLOOR AND BASE 1’-0” = 1”

1 glass, 1”

2 air gap, 3“

3 wood frame, 9” x 4”

4 sliding track

5 hardwood flooring

6 split wood stud, 2“ x 6”

7 water proof

8 CLT floor, 6“

9 glulam beam, 9” x 12”

10 metal joint

11 concrete base, 3’ x 3’

1 wood door frame, 9” x 4”

2 glass, 1”

3 air gap, 3”

DETAIL OF THE SLIDING DOOR

YUHAN CHEN

This portfolio offers a self-critical review of Yuhan Chen’s academic works at Rice University, which include projects of various types and scales that attempt to create impactful spaces, tackle a specific problem in a given context, etc. It takes a look at her learning process, personal interests, and conceptual apporaches to future tools in the ever-changing city of Houston.