many tiny worlds
Joining the borders of San Diego and Tijuana, this playful park brings diverse communities together to share their stories in a carnival-like place where the status quo is suspended and new realities can be imagined. Paths from each side never connect, but still allow both sides to interact. Developed for a RISD studio class.
A little 500 sq. ft. house that I designed in 2015 and oversaw the construction of in 2016. It uses highly insulating SIPs (structural insulated panels) instead of traditional framing, an induction cooktop, and on-demand water heater to reduce energy usage. It has large tilt-and-turn double-pane windows that oversee a berry garden. Built by ABODE.
An installation for the 2014 Seattle Design Festival. I was part of the volunteer design team, that collaborated with JTM Construction and Momentia. Our goal was to create a calm retreat to display artwork by dementia patients and represent the journey of Alzheimer’s. We developed a contemplative space filled plants, art, and light, with varying types of perforation throughout. Some gaps were big enough to walk through, others just enough to see in or out, and still others open only to the sky. (Photos by Trevor Dykstra.)
My submission for “Blurred Boundaries: Finding Connections in a World of Opposites,” the 2013 RISD landscape architecture grad student exhibition in the Sol Koffler Gallery. Hanging translucent tubes, shifting slightly in the flow of air, channel light down their lengths. Quiet and understated, the piece is not meant to be observed so much as experienced. Walking among the chimes, you shift attention from the moving spots of concentrated glow above to the dappled patterns on the floor below. Materials: Paper, tape, fishing line.
As part of a RISD studio class where we designed a low-tech sustainable school for the tropics, I created a shelter that uses recycled plastic bottles to capture sun and create extraordinary learning environments with a play of light and color. A second studio expanded on our studio's ideas and built a prototype of the school at EARTH University. Some of my themes of light made it through! (Photo of the prototype school by Jin.)
