Brooklyn, NY | 2007

Rather than consider ‘Urban’ and ‘Soft’ as contradictory concepts, this project rethinks the terms as counterparts to one another. Instead of a series of windows that polarize notions of inside and outside, two transformable layers are utilized: The outer skin becomes a system of operable clear windows while the inner skin utilizes sliding panels with printed ‘windows’ that transition between clear and opaque. The space that is captured between these layers is a kind of ‘soft’ zone – neither outside nor inside, but a gradation between the two. From the interior, the additional perceptual depth allows users to innovate previous conceptions of the domestic.

Typological Transformations: 

1.  The old-law ‘railroad’ tenement had little access to light and air.
2.  The new-law ‘dumbell’ tenement enforced small unnocupiable lightwells.
3.  Along with the rear-yard setback, soft lofts proposes a ’soft’ perimeter of occupiable light and air spaces. 

Existing Zoning:

Low 1 or 2 story warehouses are the defining characteristic that have attracted new residents(left).  The new zoning implies complete erasure with 5 or 6 story new construction.

Suggested Zoning:

By not lowering the proposed FAR, new construction could still be spliced into the existing fabric (left).   The sidewall could become a new layer  of history among the existing warehouse streetfronts.

The sidewall (or party wall) can become a new surface for bringing in light as well as an elevation that participates tangentially with the surrounding urban scene.  As only 15% of this wall can be glazed per code, the wall can be more effective as an overall distributed pattern rather than as a few isolated openings.

A skip-stop elevator allows duplex units.  The double-height soft zone between the interior and exterior is defined by sliding panels that can be configured by the user to  naturally vary the environmental performance and transparency of the space.

 
PROJECT CREDITS:  

architect
Jinhee Park AIA, John Hong AIA/LEED (principals in charge), Frederick Peter Ortner, Erik Carlson, Anne Levallois, Sadmir Ovcina, Youngju Baik, Chris Minor, Hyeyoung Kim


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Cambridge, MA | 2003
[BSA/AIA NY Housing Design Award 2004, Dwell Magazine feature Oct 2004, BSA Honor Award Citation 2003]

The 3 new townhouses transform Cambridgeport’s woodframe type, dynamically addressing boundaries between inside and outside, private and community. A critique of the inward looking ‘winterized box,’ the project incorporates double height interior/exterior spaces, cantilevered garden-balconies, and occupiable shared roof-planes — all of which become an architectural language for further urban developments.

zoning study

Longitudinal section (left) and cross section (right):  Double height spaces maximize natural light and allow for cross ventilation throughout the townhouses.



Differing window types negotiate interior and exterior:  Window walls present direct views to the outside, blank walls allow for the projection of virtual views, and high apertures (right) track the time of day.



A shared roofgarden extends the interior space of the units.

A light and air snorkel (left) is utilized to bring sunlight into more ‘buried’ spaces and promote stack ventilation.  Highly permeable sideyards mitigate runoff from adjacent sites (right)



A double height space (left) combines programs of living, dining and mezzanine office.  From the exterior, this space is screened by a bamboo planter bed integrated into the wall.



PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA /LEED, Jinhee Park AIA, Andy Hong, Erik Carlson, Johanna Niles, Thos Niles

structural engineer
Sarkis Zerounian & Associates

construction
Azzam Development & Design, Inc.

custom fabrication
Jake Forster, Letterbox Productions

landscape
Boston Landscape Co.

photography
Erik Gould Photography



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Cambridge, MA | 2005
[ Metropolis Next Generation Prize, Holcim Sustainable Construction Award ]

Most are familiar with Boston’s ongoing “Big Dig.” Few, however, give thought to the massive amount of waste that accompanies construction on this scale, namely the dismantling of the existing and temporary roadways. The Big Dig Building proposes to relocate and recycle these infrastructural materials as building components, adapting them to uses ranging from structural members to cladding. Furthermore, as these reused materials can withstand much higher loads than conventional building elements, the social ramifications of “heavy” in relation to “dwelling” can produce new and innovative results.


From Highway to Housing:  What happens to the millions of tons of discarded materials from obsolete infrastructures like Boston’s Big Dig?  Destroying it costs millions to tax payers as well as wastes the embodied energy already stored in the materials.   Dismantled and relocated, concrete and  steel sections can become structural building modules adaptable to a variety of sites and programs.

Load Comparisons: Standard framing (left) can withstand 40 psf – only standard residential objects and programs can be accomodated. The existing highway overpass (middle) is designed for HS20-44 military loading and can withstand 250 psf. The Big Dig Building using salvaged materials could withstand 200psf – How might a structure that can sustain 4x the load of standard residential construction change the way we dwell?

Highway panels are shifted to create an elevation that reads as a vertical landscape.



Like a prefabricated system, differing typologies from low to high densities can be created from the same salvaged infrastructural materials.  In this light, should not all infrastructural materials be more strategically designed with the second use already in mind? This ‘pre-cycling’ of structure would save them from become obsolete (and thus regarded as trash) and would conserve their massive amount of embodied energy for the lifespan of the material.



Cross section:  The assembly of infrastructural materials provides advantages such as long span undergroung parking, the integration of water filled trombe walls, and the ability to incorporate full scale landscapes on roofs and balconies.



Because of the ability for the materials to carry heavy loads as well as span long distances, new programmatic freedoms can evolve.  Family playgrounds can be introduced into upper level units to provide immediate access to the outdoors (left), libraries and other heavy loads can be sustained within each unit (middle), and long spans making continuities between inside and outside can be achieved (right).



PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA/LEED,  Jinhee Park AIA (principals in charge), Erik Carlson, Gentaro Miyano

structural design
Paul Pedini, Jay Cashman, Inc.

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Lexington, MA | 2006
[AIA/BSA Housing Design Award, Metropolis Magazine Feature, Boston Globe Arts Feature, Business Week Feature]

 

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Within 2 days, the house is framed: reusing steel structure and roadway panels from the big dig has sped up this phase of construction from 2 weeks to 12 hours.
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To minimize fabrication time and expense, the structural pieces were reused as-is.

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construction sequence (left) and section through living and roof garden (right).
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Salvaged structural materials are left raw (left).  The roof garden connects to the living room and utilizes harvested rainwater (right).
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Window walls in conjunction with double height spaces bring natural light deep in the space while exterior overhangs shade summer sun.




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PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
John Hong AIA /LEED, Jinhee Park AIA (principals in charge), Erik Carlson, Sadmir Ovcina, Chris Minor

structural design & construction
Paul Pedini, Jay Cashman, Inc.

structural engineer
Weidlinger Associates, Inc.

water management design
Cristina Perez-Pedini




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