Derek's Final Project Photos

In conclusion, this course has given me a breadth of experience in modeling and design that I will continue to use in future studio courses at Stanford. I was especially happy with my time management on this project, never feeling rushed to finish any aspect of the project. However, if I had more time I would develop my interior design a little bit more, especially in the chapel, as well as a more thoughtful integration with the site.

Massing Model:

Section Model:

One of the last elements I incorporated was a detail on the corners of the chapel structure which are meant to represent falling water drops, part of the "cleansing" experience of the translucent-lit room. At night these rods would light up to indicate entries and exits of the structure.

Quarter-Inch Model:

After creating the model I realized that the scaling was slightly too small in general, and increasing the plan size of the entire building about 15% would make for a less claustrophobic experience.

I was especially adamant about not using the laser cutter for the final project of my first modeling class so that I don't get a bad habit of not using my own hands. The only elements that I cut with the machine were the acrylic pieces. The following photo shows how guests on the second story get a framed panorama of the Baths and the ocean.

After hearing the critics today bring up the same issues of complexity, especially concerning hierarchy of the towers, I realized that if there were no 30 feet height limit in this project, I would raise the towers to 40-45 feet and thereby emphasize their vertical structure and focus.

Thanks to Patti, Glenn, Ben, and the critics for all your help!

Pictures from Presentation

Hey everybody, I've posted pictures I took today during presentation (almost everybody) on Facebook, here's a link to the album:

In other news, I found out today that the Leland Quarterly has published a picture of my Wall project model in the latest issue, which I highly disapprove of. I really shouldn't give magazines unlimited freedom to use any of my photos on Flickr.

Derek's Youtube Video

5:00am - Three models finished after 30 hours of work since Monday. Pictures will be up tomorrow.

The following is a video of my massing model being assembled. I plan to do this during my presentation to help the critics understand the composition of my chapel.

Derek's Printouts

Quarter Inch Study Model

Photos taken today after class. The critics brought up some good issues dealing with hierarchy and expressive light, so I will be resolving these problems this weekend.

The above image shows the effect of a cast 'cross' on the inside wall of the tower.

The above image shows the front of the triangular chapel. The two glass planes are currently just translucent panels, but I will add some strips of clear glass to allow guest on the second floor to view the ocean.

Client-Preferred Architect Inspirations

Three of the client's preferred architects that I drew inspiration from were Carlo Scarpa, Sverre Fehn, and Tadao Ando. The areas of inspiration, respectively, were massing, material, and light expression.

The above building by Scarpa illustrates the beauty of a complex interlocking of geometric objects and acute angles. A few critics have suggested that my structure is too complex and relies too heavily on a variety of materials, but Scarpa's work demonstrates how a thoughtful ordering and placement of these massing objects, wall thicknesses, and glass can create a very strong sense of balance and interaction. While most angled corners of my building open up to circulation, there are some at the outermost edges of my structures that are difficult to inhabit, so I may use them as storage or an interesting expression of light.

The above building by Fehn illustrates the use of a powerful form of translucency on vertical walls. It is characterized by horizontal slits of glass which block vision into or out of the building, but allow a controlled amount of light through the plane, both during day and night. I plan to use a similar material and texture on my light boxes, which connect to all buildings and are the main channels of light into and out of the structure. A juxtaposition of this kind of translucent wall and clear glass panels will also allow for interested framing.

Finally, the above building by Tadao Ando illustrates the power of thin slits of light to create meaningful expression of light, in this case a vertical cross in the Chapel of Light. I plan to use a similar cross shape on the roofs of my tower. This has benefits over Ando's design because the direct light beam will not cause problems of glare in the long shaft of the roof, and the horizontal crosses will cast long crosses, either in light or shadow, on the vertical walls of the towers, moving from wall to wall during the course of the day.

Updated Chapel Sketchup Model

This is an updated model on Sketchup which shows some exploration of materials of walls and the perforations of the light boxes. The initial model was based on a vertical proportion of 8 ft, but I decided to increase that proportion to 10 ft to allow for more volume within the structure, bringing the height of the two wooden towers to 30 ft.

The triangular main chapel still needs work in terms of the ultimate structure of the glass walls and the roof/ceiling. Because there are two levels two the chapel, I have a variety of options in terms of light expression, but I want to limit my design choices to the front glass panes and the highest roof in order to preserve the simplicity of the interior.

One addition is the cross shaped roofs to the two towers. The southern tower is an open courtyard so it takes the roof with less surface area, while the northern tower is an indoor courtyard so it receives more shadow. But both towers will cast a cross, either in shadow or light, onto three different walls throughout the course of the day.

The following two images are section cuts, the first one showing all of the rooms of the first floor, and the second one showing the second floor of the main chapel, accessed by the stairway between the two towers.

These two images show the chapel from the first floor and the second floor, with the prototype texture of the glass panels casting cross shadows onto the floor. The highest ceiling will be perforated in select areas to allow beams of light to fall on the second floor.

Finally, I placed the model in Google Earth to show the ideal time of a sunset service, which brights a warm glow right into the left glass pane of the chapel.

Chapel Sketchup Model

This weekend I learned how to use Sketchup and recreated my eighth inch massing model so that I could get accurate views of my elevations. This is important because from plan, my chapel looks extremely irregular and unaesthetic, but my design works best from ground views. The key element to my design is a dominant union of two wooden towers by a second level glass/steel catwalk. The other buildings (office, classroom, chapel, side chapel, main lobby) are placed in the context of this structure, focusing mainly on strategic circulation and overall massing balance.

This is an elevation from the main entryway into the building. The entrance to the right is into the main lobby, which leads straight into the side chapel (right tower) and the main chapel behind it. The entrance to the left leads you into the classroom/playground and the office space. The space between the two walkways is a sloped wall that will function as my beloved detail.

Here is roughly the same view from a bird's eye to see the structure and balance:

And here is a view from the other side of the building, which shows the large V-shaped glass wall of the chapel, which gives a pure view of the ocean and the Sutro baths area. There are two exits on this side of the chapel (another one back to the street) which allow the visitors to access trails by the coast if they so desire. The time of day in this view is morning, but as this chapel is on the west coast it is perhaps reasonable to have some worship services during the afternoon to enjoy the sunset over the ocean.

Finally, here is a view of the model from roughly the right site location on Google Earth, right on top of the existing parking lot. this will give the chapel the best view of the coast and ocean, while keeping the entryway relatively close to the road.

Today I will be working on a quarter inch model for just the chapel, as well as a section cut of one of the towers. If I have time, I will begin to work out a detailed floor plan for the whole building as well. If you have questions or comments feel free to reply below or email me at derekouyang@gmail.com

Inspiration from The Fountainhead

A passage from one of my favorite books, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which I thought of in regards to this project.

"The Temple was to be a small building of gray limestone. Its lines were horizontal, not the lines reaching to heaven, but the lines of the earth. It seemed to spread over the ground like arms outstretched at shoulder-height. palms down, in great, silent acceptance. It did not cling to the soil and it did not crouch under the sky. It seemed to lift the earth, and its few vertical shafts pulled the sky down. It was scaled to human height in such a manner that it did not dwarf man, but stood as a setting that made his figure the only absolute, the gauge of perfection by which all dimensions were to be judged. When a man entered this temple, he would feel space molded around him, for him, as if it had waited for his entrance, to be completed. It was a joyous place, with the joy of exaltation that must be quiet. It was a place where one would come to feel sinless and strong, to find the peace of spirit never granted save by one's own glory."

Wall Assignment Final Model

My final model was largely a success, given the amount of time spent (15 hours), the difficulty of the many complex pieces, and my commitment to not using hot glue. The final product is an interesting, cohesive blend of three different materials and bold shapes.

I'm especially happy with how the outside banners turned out. The only way I could create curves was to laser cut two wooden pieces that sandwich vertical acryllic panels. I was very lucky that the panels fit with just enough space, and that the three banners were able to support themselves. I had finished the bottom panel the night before, but about an hour before class I discovered it to be half missing and left broken on the shelf. Luckily, I was able to quickly recreate it with some extra glass panels I had

Some notable additions to this model from the preliminary model were glass railings on the balcony and stairs, a skeletal ladder piece on the back side of the cube, and a small display case next to the entrance to mimic the larger wooden square. These final additions were completely hand done because I did not want this model to be entirely made with the laser cutter.

The punctures into the wall turned out to be very effective. I designed them on AutoCAD with a basic proportional design, along with some extra scorings on the front to introduce some design to the exterior surface. The final product was three foam core pieces thick, but because of the effects of the laser cutter I had to use some white tape to cover key edges. The result is an imposing facade that I can easily adapt for a monolithic wall in my chapel project.

Wall Assignment Preliminary Model

I've been playing with an "Interlocking Room as Wall" design, which subtracts a triangle from the original facade and then adds a series of light, playful rooms and banners to create an inviting entrance to the community hall.

I began with a 3-4-5 triangle and placed a 3x4 skewed rectangle on the floor. The back two walls will be extremely thick concrete walls, with long, deep, and thin punctures to let light into the hall (currently shown as square holes). Then I added a glass cube in the corner as an L-shaped entrance, with a large doorway which can open or close depending on circulation needs.

In front of this large threshold, I wanted to put a rectangular skeletal wall, but while working with trace paper in my experimental model (see above) I began to play with a series of curved banners. These are made of light frames and stretched canvas and can be moved by about five people pushing the thin columns. This invites community involvement and turns the front facade into a dynamic, multipurpose form.

For my preliminary model, I changed the curved walls into a series of flat panels, which I imagine can be covered with posters or interactive surfaces depending on what is currently happening in the community hall. I also added a third banner on the floor to finish off the grid of three, which can also be pushed or pulled as a fun outdoor activity.

The different forms of the banners create a series of different spaces (6 total), which will have different light plays, depending on the translucency of the different panels. I decided to turn the top of the cube into a balcony space from which people can interact with the wall punctures and view the open area.

From the inside, there is a staircase to the balcony. Because the new threshold is V-shaped, people can exit from the left and right corners, which will have doors on the side walls. Right at these corners will be open windows through the concrete which will provide zen views of the outside area. From the photo above, although it won't actually be square punctures you can get an idea of what interesting light plays will occur inside the community hall.

The final addition was a V-shaped tip of the V-shaped wall, so that it could be visible from the courtyard above the banners and add consistency between horizontal and vertical planes. Feel free to leave any suggestions or critiques.