Eric 郝浩

Ba (Hons) Interior & Environment Design - 2019 Cohort

My Design Philosophy

In the future, I may continue exploring rural revitalisation, which is one thing I find very meaningful. Maybe one day my name will be known too! I am working on a project to renovate an abandoned building.

Honours Project - Community Integration

Project Brief

“Break Through The Soil” Student Activity Centre

  • Issues to be addressed - The negative psychological state of university students in the post-epidemic era

  • Potentials/resources from the site - Converted from a driving school to a student activity centre

  • Design scheme - The building simulates the emergence of a seed to stimulate students' creativity and vitality

  • Structural - Extension, starts from one point and spreads outwards

  • The final goal(s)/ achievement - Create a journey in which students will keep finding more possibilities for themselves.

Idea Generation & Design Process

Creating Forms.

Original building

Localization Design

Spatial Planning

Creating Forms.

Original building

Localization Design

Spatial Planning

Slider image

Creating Forms.

Creating Forms. The building will like a seed that expands outwards. The whole building takes on the form of a seed breaking out of the ground. From the original building at the centre radiates outwards to form the interior space.

Slider image

Consider the original building

Consider the original building as a point in the overall site. Using the original building as a starting point, it extends across the site. In this way a very tense shape is created. This shape is used to plan the interior and exterior spaces and the green space.

Slider image

Localization Design.

Based on the created form and in accordance with the spatial constraints of the original site. Plan out the indoor and outdoor spaces. Avoidance of trees on the original site and re-planning of the vegetated parts of the landscape. Creation of a controlled in situ plan layout.

Slider image

Spatial Planning.

Based on the created interior and exterior spaces, the overall movement and functional division is carried out. Adjustments are made to the original layout in order to achieve realisability and practicality.

Step 1 of 4

Final Design Scheme

“Break Through The Soil” Student Activity Centre

The design theme is "BREAK THROUGH THE SOIL", which aims to create an indoor and outdoor space for student club activities in the post-epidemic era, helping university students to address their psychosocial and psychological healing needs, stimulating their creativity and inspiring them to pursue their infinite possibilities. I hope that this design can be used as a new starting to help university students start their university life afresh. Like a seed, it will take root, break ground and grow in all its glory.

Final Design Proposal

When users enter the site, it's like they're on a journey. In this journey, the various travel routes can see the different lifestyles and preferences of others. Everyone is here showing their different lives and hobbies. This will stimulate their creativity and explore their different possibilities.

General Views

The design is inspired by a crack that has grown as a result of plants breaking through the concrete. This life-affirming symbol represents a vitality and creativity. I hope that can inspiring them to break out of their anxious and depressed state of mind due to the epidemic.

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

The theme is the intersection, where the abandonment of the driving school becomes a turning point in our university life, transitioning from freedom to confinement. Furthermore, the location of the driving school serves as the junction between life and learning. In the future, it will also serve as the intersection of society and campus. Like a crack that begins at a single point and expands outward through countless trials and tribulations, it gradually develops into a multitude of possibilities. Here, numerous fragments of mirrors surround a central mirror, embedded within a large recessed disc. Through a specific viewing point, the viewer can observe the reflections of countless versions of themselves in the mirrors, symbolising their infinite potential. The coloured mirrors indicate that each of these selves possesses a different future. Thus, this installation serves as an inspiration for individuals to seek different versions of themselves and explore their own possibilities. When users confront the varied reflections of themselves in this installation, it is hoped that they can envision greater possibilities for their lives, inspiring them to venture into the unknown and embrace their uniqueness. Through this installation, I aim to assist students in breaking free from their confined lives and encourage them to approach life's challenges with a positive and optimistic mindset, thereby forging their own limitless possibilities. As Forrest Gump once said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." So, go explore!

Honours Project - Site Research and Representation

Part I: Research and Analysis

Hebei University Driving School was established in 2004 as a state-run driving school to accompany the construction of the new campus of Hebei University. It is located inside the campus of Hebei University, next to the stadium. However, due to urban planning and the epidemic in 2020, it was forced to stop enrolling students and has been abandoned for two years. The original driving school has moved out and will not be enrolling in the future. Currently, the driving school is situated at the intersection of the teaching area, the living area, and the sports field, and due to its location, students pass by it several times a day. This is where study and life intersect. In the post-epidemic era, our lives are filled with anxiety, and our intense studies do not allow us to relax. However, another intersection can be found in the long run. The future Shenzhen Industrial Park project will see the construction of numerous innovative industries in the northern part of the park. The location of the driving school is also where the campus and the Shenzhen Industrial Park project intersect. Thus, this can also be seen as an intersection between the campus and the community. From this intersection, we hope to help university students emerge from the negative effects of the post-epidemic era and use it as a new starting point to begin a new life.

Part II: Site Representation

The building has withstood the passage of time and the rain, and a long crack has appeared in the concrete of the exterior wall, running across the top of the building. A plant has even grown out of the crack. An object undergoes all kinds of blows and damage before cracks are created. These blows and damages are like the various trials in life. The cracks can also represent the minutiae of life and our state of anxiety. We are now in a post-epidemic era that has put academic pressure on us. The socio-economic impact has put pressure on us to find a job. With all sorts of pressures, we feel anxious and restless. But broken eggshells and plants that thrive in the cracks represent new life as well as new opportunities. We are in a post-epidemic era and long for new life. It's like struggling through eggshells, and all this effort for a new life post-epidemic. And the cracks all start from a single point, in a free form, extending outwards at random, constantly changing the direction of progress. This organic form has infinite possibilities. But it actually starts from a very small point and gives rise to infinite possibilities. Perhaps this will become a new starting point, offering infinite social possibilities for students and potentially helping them to escape a life of anxiety.

Honours Project

Theoretical Underpinning

Part I: Generation Z and Self Identification

'The abundance of information at their fingertips allows them to process information faster than ever before .... this also brings with it the disadvantage of time fragmentation.'

The birth of Generation Z

The birth of Generation Z was accompanied by the advent of the information age. This group of digital natives is deeply influenced by this era. The abundance of information at their fingertips allows them to process information faster than ever before, but this also brings with it the disadvantage of time fragmentation. A study of the phenomenon of time fragmentation among Generation Z reveals that they have more difficulty concentrating. The rise of new media technology has exposed them to a huge amount of information every day, and their minds have become jumpy and short, making it difficult to concentrate on one thing for long periods of time. With Critical collage I want people to reflect. We need to reflect on the negative effects of the phenomenon of time fragmentation caused by the influence of new media technologies on Generation Z. We need to reflect on the phenomenon of time fragmentation that sinks people. Through this Critical collage, we hope that people will pick up paper books again to enrich their minds.

Part II:  Pre-generation Z and Self Identification

'Generation Y were born into an emerging technological world, but they have also lived through a period of rapidly rising house prices, rising childcare costs. ...... they are under immense pressure'

The emerging technological world

Generation Y were born into an emerging technological world, but they have also lived through a period of rapidly rising house prices, rising childcare costs. Although they are now on the rise, they are under immense pressure. Their experiences as children have made them more interested in balancing work and family. But the pressures of family, work and life leave them no choice. In my collage, I want to reflect the pressure that Generation Y takes on. The bottom white panel has thin white lines wrapped around it. These irregular and disorganised white lines represent the trivialities of life and work that they have to deal with. The rough surface of the small balls represents this generation's anxious state of being. The brown twine on the outermost layer represents the various pressures they are under, trapped by the financial pressures of cars, houses, childcare and life. They happen to be the generation most eager to balance work and family, so they want to escape, enjoy freedom and spend time with their families.

Part III: Generations and Community

'....Gen Y and Gen Z are in a state of anxiety. Both generations are experiencing the economic turmoil at an age when they are about to enter society or at the beginning of it'

A state of Anxiety

The majority of Gen Y and Gen Z are in a state of anxiety. Both generations are experiencing the economic turmoil at an age when they are about to enter society or at the beginning of it. The stress and anxiety of Generation Y comes more from the current economic pressures of life and is heavily influenced by their parents. The anxiety and stress of Generation Y comes more from confusion about the future and is more influenced by the digital world, but also by the economic situation. I hope this work can guide people to release their pressure, find a soft and comfortable living environment and get close to nature. The whole work reflects that anxious people go to such a flowery, soft and bright natural environment, and can gradually walk out of the state of anxiety. Let go of stress and reconnect with yourself. There is more to life than the things that annoy. pursue poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for

To Explore, Discover, & Regenerate