Daisy 郑毅臻

Ba (Hons) Interior & Environment Design - 2019 Cohort

My Design Philosophy

I like playing video games, cooking, playing the piano, and reading in my spare time. I like to be alone indoors doing what I like. Therefore, I have a high demand for a comfortable indoor environment, which has become one of my design concepts: to design the building space to the different climates and user needs.

Honours Project - Community Integration

Project Brief

Inclusion

  • Community activity centre

  • Movable space

  • Elastic space

  • Children's social space

  • Industrial theme

Idea Generation & Design Process

The Square

Multifunction

Sketch

Structure

The Square

Multifunction

Sketch

Structure

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Square Brick

The cold bluestone square brick and the warm coloured round plastic site echo each other, reflecting the development process of industrial history. The colourful colours also enhance the vitality of the children and the entire surrounding community.

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Multifunctional activity hall

This sketch shows a multifunctional activity hall on the ground floor, as well as other interior Spaces, including a craft area and a parent-child kitchen. The stage of the activity hall can be raised and lowered freely, and the bookshelf is also movable, which can be used as both the performance hall and the reading room.

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Sketch of the layout

A sketch of the layout of the second floor is shown here, including an exhibition area, a lounge area and a children's reading room. The bookshelves in the children's reading room are movable and can be gathered together to form a communication space.

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The structure

Sketch of the activity hall on the first floor. The structure of the hall is inspired by the shape of the boiler to reflect the original purpose of the building and to echo the theme of industrial wind.

Step 1 of 4

Final Design Scheme

Flexible and changeable

My project enhanced the façade of the main entrance to the building, making it more convex. The exterior features overlapping circular plazas, inspired by industrial pipes, that echo the square masonry and architecture. The colour is more warm and vivid, just like the colourful rust, adding a lively atmosphere. The indoor movable space increases the elasticity of the space and broadens the function of the space, which can be used for different functions by different groups of people and provides more convenience for users. 

Final Design Proposal

Community cultural activity centre for children 

General Views

The exterior uses black metal to enhance the visual effect of the entrance and Windows, which contrasts with the red brick to create an industrial atmosphere. The warm colours of the outdoor square contrast with the cold bluestones surrounding it. The colourful colours come from rust, representing the development of industry, as well as the calm old people and active children. Circles are livelier than hard squares.

Context, Site analysis, Design Narratives and Concept

Get to know the thorough design development from the stages listed below.

Community Project - Participant’s Installation

Design Narrative

I was inspired by the movable pulley block and wire rope in the crane. The purpose of this project is to enable people to understand the diversity of life through interactive device design, allowing for better communication and interaction with the surrounding community. The design aims to convey that individuals can create more possibilities with their own hands, while guiding people to comprehend the mobility of the interior space of the transformed community activity centre. For the final design, elastic strips were chosen as movable and adjustable elements, with four strips on each side. Mountaineering locks were attached to both ends of the strips, and holes were drilled in the iron frame to allow users to move freely. The decision to use cloth instead of wire rope was based on the cloth's ability to showcase a wider range of colours and better reflect the diversity of people's thoughts. This device can be replicated indefinitely and combined as desired. Different quantities of devices can be stacked to form corridors or larger spaces through which people can move, creating more possibilities and providing a profound experience of the joy of creating combined spaces themselves.

Honours Project - Site Research and Representation

Part I: Research and Analysis

My site is an abandoned boiler factory located in the Hancheng town of Tangshan City. As an industrial building, it holds certain humanistic, historical, and cultural value. Located in a residential area, it is planned to be transformed into a cultural activity center for community residents, aiming to improve the surrounding environment, provide convenience for the surrounding residents and bring its value back into play. The surrounding area of the site is mostly residential areas, including urban villages and some emerging communities. The site is situated near the road, and the traffic is relatively convenient. There are many shops and a primary school nearby. To the west of the site is a hardware store, and to the west of the hardware store is a road. On the north side of the site is a path that connects to the road, and on the north side of the path is a car wash. To the south of the site is a path that also connects to the road. Across the lane is the driving school. However, the driving school has a courtyard wall, and its entrance is at a certain distance from the site, making it safer to enter the site from here. To the east of the site is a wasteland. The structure of the house is framed and divided into two parts. The main material of the columns is cement, the main material of the walls is red brick, and the roof is mainly composed of a steel structure. The roof is made of colour steel. The structure of the whole building is stable, strong, and well-preserved.

Part II: Site Representation

The object I have chosen is a crane covered in rust. The crane has been there since the beginning of the building, bearing witness to the history of the structure. The city is an industrial civilization, which echoes the theme expressed by this object. The metal and rust in the raw materials of this crane can be used as elements and materials in my design. Metal and steel structures are stable and can be used for a long time to help people. Rust red is a great decorative colour and can also add a sense of age to an item, giving it a better sense of the theme of industrial history. I conducted a material test with iron plate and rust respectively. I performed a burning experiment on the iron plate, a pressing and printing experiment on the rusty iron plate, a sealing experiment on the rust powder with resin, and a bending experiment on the rusty iron bar. All of these materials left a beautiful texture. These textures can represent the passage of time and the record of history. I hope my design can also connect people in the community through the history of heavy industry, making culture flow between people and promoting communication. Just like a crane can move.

Honours Project

Theoretical Underpinning

Part I: Generation Z and Self Identification

'....they may not be good at dealing with social situations in real life, have difficulty dealing with real environment, lack of experience in offline communication with people....'

Generation Z and Self Identification

Thanks to the development of the Internet and mobile phone and other technologies, online social networking may become the main way for Gen Z people to socialize, and they can do most things in their daily lives without leaving their homes. As a result, they may not be good at dealing with social situations in real life, have difficulty dealing with real environment, lack of experience in offline communication with people, and attach great importance to personal privacy. Many of them may suffer from social phobia, dislike being the center of attention in a crowd, and prefer to use the Internet to develop social ways and social channels that they are good at. The blooming flowers represent the Z era full of personality, and the golden wire represents the network cable, linking them together and tying them down. The white boxes represent electronic products through which they learn about the world and connect with each other.

Part II:  Pre-generation Z and Self Identification

'They have not been exposed to the Internet since childhood, so it is more difficult for them to deal with complex information on the Internet and receive information at a slower speed.'

Generation X and Self Identification

China's Generation X has experienced many events, and their thinking has gone through the process from imprisonment to liberation, which makes them more inclined to believe in their own experience and more stubborn and conservative in their thinking. In those days, entertainment was politicized and taken seriously, resulting in a more humble, stuffy and serious personality. They have not been exposed to the Internet since childhood, so it is more difficult for them to deal with complex information on the Internet and receive information at a slower speed. Besides, they lack the ability to distinguish the authenticity of information on new media, and they are more likely to believe in "authority". They are not sensitive to electronic devices and are relatively slow to adopt new things. This work expresses that Generation X people are breaking through the restrictions of the old era and reborn. The branches break through the dilapidated stone walls, representing changes made during the Cultural Revolution, and the birds represent the attitude of Generation X people to break through the environment and pursue themselves

Part III: Generations and Community

'....are less adept at using technology like the Internet, which has led them to prefer socializing with people offline. .... Generation X are mostly only children, and their lack of companionship makes them feel lonely, so they tend to do activities with their peers. '

Comparison and summary between Gen Z and Gen X

Gen Xers are less adept at using technology like the Internet, which has led them to prefer socializing with people offline. But the children of Generation X are mostly only children, and their lack of companionship makes them feel lonely, so they tend to do activities with their peers. Generation Z grew up in an era of abundant spiritual, cultural and material conditions. They can use the Internet for social communication and daily life. They can live alone, but their parents are often busy, and their status as the only child makes them more lonely. Therefore, it may be possible to design an activity space where different age groups can communicate and get to know each other to alleviate these problems. Generation X laid the foundation for the growth of Generation Z, but Generation Z is growing faster and better at using the Internet.

To Explore, Discover, & Regenerate