RISD Thesis 2020

We are a graduating class of architecture students from Rhode Island School of Design. This page is an online archive of process and exploration by our thesis section, advised by Hansy Better Barraza with secondary advisor Silvia Acosta. Since 17 March 2020, RISD students have been in self-isolation in response to COVID-2019. This tumblr page intends to be a constantly updated digital platform where our thesis section can continue to share our work with one another, offer critique, and present our process to viewers and critics. Please click on the tags to view individual works, or view our collective works as chronologically uploaded. Students: Alexa Thorne, Cherry Yang, Katie Solien, Jason Jang, Jake Lefeber, Jasmine Jalinous, Reishan McIntosh, Sarah Kim, Wei Xiao

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Review: 04_21_2020 — Are.na

Content produced for 04.21.2020 upcoming review

Link to work for Thesis process review on 04.21.2020

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Design Iteration 1

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Design Iteration 1

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Hudson Yards

Underground transportation of Hudson Yards and axon of platform structure.

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Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards development and its surrounding buildings.

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Spatial Narratives

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Community and Media

What is the relationship between the community and media? How is it explored and structured?

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Media space

The collection of the conceptual media space guides a reimagined structure and program of social media in physical space.

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Media Platforms

Interpretations of media platforms as architectural spaces and elements. What is the spatial structure of social media?

YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

TIKTOK

SNAPCHAT

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN

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Virtual Space vs. Physical Space

In today’s media-based culture and society, we often loose sense of our life in reality. We gain a general view of the world affairs from the mass media and our social interactions occur primarily in the cyber space rather than by face to face contact. We are fonder of the non-places than of tactile surroundings. Dwelling in the more anonymous world, we have been losing the chance of encounter. The goal of this project is to explore the space as a place of relationship and interaction between the physical and virtual experience.

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Represent the individual

How could the housing operate within this structural framework? While further thinking about the individual, how can the design reflect the personality of those who occupy the house?

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Recreation

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Experiment 1 +

The original horizontal mixture of three housing typologies can be re-arranged to vertical, meanwhile, the system allows the three elements to continue functioning and forming gardens for individuals.

Further thinking about the relationship between each building and how the ground can be recreated, the bridge could happen with the extension of this system, generating an extra platform for various types of public activities.

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Experiment 01: Modularity

This is a mock-up unit in which the structure provides agency for the individual element to find its place. Here the general structure could be given by the official, while residents still have the freedom to construct these elements accordingly and to maintain the original living qualities.

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The characters

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“Here”

According to the current urban renovating plan, the whole urban village will be clean out for new commercial program. The drawing series not only displayed the commercialization of the place, wherein those diverse activities that happen simultaneously at the place are homogenized to shopping, but also began to give glues to certain architectural elements that give the agency to the informal public spaces in urban village, as a site of uncertainty, the program of public spaces is defined through actions. The storefront can be a chatting space; the courtyard can be the playground for children or the extension of a balcony - here the public spaces are informal and transformable according to the intention of residents.

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The “Multiple”

Its embedded civil diversity is reflected through the housing typologies and types of people living there.The housing typologies can be subdivided into three categories: Danwei housing built in the 70s, which belongs to enterprises and institutions, usually houses workers and retired teachers; individual housing, which houses single families with a lot of members; and cluster renting, which is the preferred living space for migrant workers from other provinces due to its cheap renting prices.