SACRED SPACE (PROJECT 1

My sacred place is a cathedral. The inspiration is mainly from the cardboard cathedral. Normally cathedrals don’t have shapes like pyramids so I want to make a breakthrough by combining pyramids with arcs.

* Cardboard Cathedral lies in New Zealand; Knarvik Church lies in Norway

* RRA: Reiulf Ramstad Architects

The scales in my technical drawings are 1″=20′  but the scale of my actual model is 1″=10′

Side Elevation with SOLAR PANNELS

Side Elevation with SOLAR PANNELS

The two pyramids can be separated apart so you can see the interior of the cathedral. This photo depicts the inside look without the bigger pyramid. The inside of the cathedral are mainly benches and a stage.

The human figures are 6′ tall in real life. Such contrasts show how tall the architecture actually is. This photo was taken without the bigger pyramid.

Letter to the Climate

Dear Climate,

Stop Changing!

But still, I know it is not your fault but our human beings’.

It is because of our own desires that had made you suffered.

All we had seen for the past centuries were development.

We chased for economy development, so we built up factories to promote industrialization; we drove away animals to have more lands for skyscrapers; we expanded cities and polluted air.

We craved for supplements development, so we cut down trees for woods; we blasted earth for ores and minerals; we split off oceans for oils.

We sought for efficiency development, so we invented cars; we ran over mountains for more highways; we overused power and energy to accelerate.

And now, all the damages we had caused eventually came back to us. We finally started to realize how awfully wrong we had been.

Thus, dear climate, we human beings are now trying to make up all the ruins we had done. I know we haven’t done well enough yet, but this is a long-term process and I promise we can make it better and better.

 

With Regret and Respect,

Xingman

KOMBUCHA LEATHER

STEP 1: We followed the instruction and measured one gallon of water, boiled it to kill the bacteria.

STEP 2: After the water was boiled, we cleaned the container and poured the water in it.

STEP 3 : We added sugar and tea bags

STEP 4: We stirred it to mix better

STEP 5: Cap closed

We then placed the container and waited for days to add in the SCOBY. However, days after we found the water started to get really moldy. It was because the temperature was not warm enough, so we poured it out and redid it. We followed the exact same procedure and paid attention to the temperature. Luckily this time it didn’t get moldy so we added the SCOBY two days after. Right now we are still waiting for it to grow.

 

ONE DECADE LATER…….

 

Our leathers were finally in shapes! So we placed them carefully and wait till they dry.

 

ONE CENTURY LATER……

 

FINAL PIECES!!

Week 2 Inquiry

Annotated Contact Pages: 

Description Text:

Throughout this inquiry practice, I found that there are two major biases in my observations. One is color matching and the other is structure.

Wandering through the new school, the first thing I noticed that stood out particularly was how white most the spaces are. It’s obvious that white is the absolute majority color. Thus I have a set of pictures that depict how different kinds of whites match with each other, and another set of photos that show how red, another major color in the new school, matches with white.

Except the color matching, structures also caught my eyes. I found the “three-ways” composition and clockwise winding staircases very fascinating. Moreover, the fact that how long and narrow many stairways are is also interesting.

Like what it was said in McCarter’s book, “The only appropriate way to evaluate architecture is through our experience of it”. I do feel like knowing more than ever about the space I am in every day after experiencing it by myself.

Reflective Observation Report (MORUS)

  • The first thing that immediately caught my eyes was the toy-liked decorations on the fences of the community garden. To me, turning old used wastes into such amusing childish artworks is absolutely creative, and the idea of reusing stands out as well.

  • Inside of the garden, we then saw more installations that help to recycle or to reduce energy/sources waste. For instance, a tube on the top of a little pavilion can collect rain and transit it to some special containers under the pavilion, which can restore the water and use it for plant irrigation.
  • Even though the garden is run by the community, the two chickens seemed more like the actual masters of this place. You can tell that they’ve been nicely taken care of just from their shining beautiful feathers and the fats they’ve gained.

  • The composting system in the garden is very well and carefully designed. It proves to us that having a sustainable system doesn’t mean you need to put lots of money for advanced machines to support it. With your intelligence and some simple equipment, you can still manage to keep the system nice and sustainable.

        

        

 

  • The beehives in the garden are also standing out particularly. Bees are well-known to help plants reproduce so having not only plants but also bees in the garden does make it more like a self-supported ecosystem.

  • We then went to the rooftop of an old building, which was reconstructed by the community people and had now turned into a successful sample for reclaiming aged urban space. One of the most important parts of this sustainable system is the solar panels which can generate electricity by absorbing sun’s rays. By using this technology, the building accomplishes both saving energy/money and keeping power-independence.

  • I ignored this enclosure at first because I thought it had nothing special but served normal functions. However, later then I got to know how essential this normal-looking space is. It helps the heats in the building going out, which is very crucial because it prevents overheating and promotes air convection.

  • Another thing that I found very interesting and smart was these straws-weaved chairs. I especially appreciate the idea of recycling and reusing materials creatively. These chiars are easily made but still have their own uniqueness. It was a pitty that I didn’t give them a try to see if they are comfortable and strong enough to sit on.

        

 

Bridge 1: Research and Analysis

General Process Diagram

  1. Women in ancient China used to bind their feet because it was common sense that women only look pretty with small feet and they could not find husbands if they don’t do that.

2. Foot binding gave so much damage to their feet that they could barely walk in the outside world but stay at home and do house works. These women’s lives were very much controlled by their husbands and were more like belongings to them.

3. The very first thumbnails draft that I made for the shoes. The main idea of the project is Female Restriction, combining with pain and torture.

4. I first used wires to construct the main frame of the shoes. At first I was planning on using both wires and needles but then had to give up needles because they were very hard to be accurately placed.

5. I cut and painted cardboards to make the bottoms of the shoes. The bottoms were not in the original plan but later got added in in order to amplify the exaggeration.

6. I attached the bottoms with the shoes together with some special black threads. The shoes are sizes smaller than my partner’s actual shoe size deliberately so that she could feel the intensity and pain more clearly.

7. Final Work