Sheldon Pei

Table of Contents

01 Nazca Lines

02 Dynamic Facade Study

03 airBaltic Airport Competition

04 Reviving the Heart of Brasilia

05 Equation-based Morphologies

06 Modular Frame

07 Carnal Clay

The creation of the Nazca Lines shrouded in mystery, there are a lot of theories how, why and who cre-ated them. Some say by aliens. The lines are quite large, some range from 80 meters long and about 20 to 30 centimeters deep. As an ob-servatory in Peru overlooking the Nazca Lines, is a slim building 300m tall and only 10m wide and 40m long challenges the notion of standard skyscrappers. It’s highly refl ective exterior will make it blend into the landscape and be primarily visible in its mirroring of the surroundings. The very thin north and south eleva-tions allow it to nearly disappear into the landscape. At night, the building appears with the colorful fl oating volumes making the project add to the mysteriousness of the lines.

Nazca LinesSpring 2010

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LEVEL 06 DINING KITCHEN & SEATING

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LEVEL 08 EMPLOYEE REC ROOM

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LEVEL 16 HOSTEL

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Nazca Lines | 01

With the trend of creating new sustain-able living systems, this project was focused on dynamic facades. Designed by focusing on using the facade as a means for water collection. The aspira-tion came from looking at cells and how they change volumetically with the reac-tion to water. An example is the pruning of the fi nger tips after a long exposure to water. The surface of the facade is composed of hydro gels that are capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of water. Heat is applied to each cell to release the water to transported into a storage tank to be then used later.

Dynamic Facade StudyFall 2009

Dynamic Facade Study | 02

The airBaltic airport design in Riga, Lat-via started off as a simple parametric study for studio. Tasked to create a module that could be placed onto any surface that could change sizes by para-metrically responding to the program within and to the environment outside. The concept of the building came from the MIT chapel designed by Eero Saarin-en, and his usage of indirect light. The travelers would be bathed in indirect sunlight through each of the circular module which make up the overall form. The indirect light slowly dematerialize the heaviness of the roof much like in the Ando’s Church of light letting the travelers believe the structure was fad-ing away.

airBaltic Airport Competition Fall 2010

airBaltic Airport Competition | 03

In order to revive the Brasilia’s heart, the momumental axis had to changed. Currently, it is just a fl at green space that does not really connect to the residental axis and to the surrounding areas. Brasilia was built to be monu-mental, however, through its monu-mentality, the human scale was lost. The proposal suggesta s reconfi gura-tion of the main axis to allow a fl uid connection from one side of the city to the other. Bridges are created to gain access to different parts of the proj-ect. By pulling the landscape over the site, the bus station, stores, highway and metro are buried with the heat of the project. The landscape emerges to relaim the human scale throughout the site. The goal is to reconnect Brasilia’s

citzens to eachother.

Site Plan

Reviving theHeart of Brasilia Spring 2011

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

Roof Garden Plan

Transverse Section

Longitudnal Section

Reviving the Heart of Brasilia | 04

The global morphology derived from the Astriod along with the local ge-ometry, creates a continuous surface of rotating planes. Inspired by falling sakura pedals, the speed of the rotation differs as the planes spirals around, changing the porosity of the geometry. Not only allowing the planes to rotate but also the global geometry too also, it constantly varies intensities of light as planes spiral downward.

Equation-Based MorphologiesSpring 20102

Perspective View

Top View

Equation-based Morphologies | 05

Module Aggregation

Throughout the project we were explor-

ing different types of materials and

shapes that would create a unique expe-

rience while within the frame. We fi nally

settled on a metal grid which was folded

into a cone shape. As the cones were

linked together they naturally formed a

spiral. The layout of the frame was that

we want to have these spirals to fold-

ing into each other while going in the

upwards direction. Once reaching to-

wards the top the folded spiral creates

an “exploding” effect over the top then

slowly refolds while it travels back down

the frame. Due to the metallic surface

of these cones it created such nice light-

ing surfaces and shadows. At times it

seemed like the spirals disappeared into

the light or because of its density it van-

ishes into the darkness.

Modular FrameFall 2007

Modular Frame | 06

One way of understanding the work that I have done with clay is understand its craft. A way to think of craft is very much like a story, it’s nearly a retelling of our experiences in creating the work. In order to hear the story we have to touch the work, feel the surface and try to understand it. As a person once said “to touch the world is to know to world”. As you run a fi nger around the edges of the clay, you can feel that it is not as smooth or level as surface itself. You can feel a jagged indent left behind, noting that something has been cut away. Whereas on the surface you can feel ridge slightly protruding out from the corners to the center, feeling much like veins on a person’s skin. All these things are the traces we have left behind are much like chapters in a book, they only tell one part of the story. The vessal is heavily infl uenced by the void, designing a rythmn. Each piece by themselves is rather static, but as a wall is plastic idea, creating a living object, sculpture like. The varying sized circular voids, at fi rst seemed randomly distributed across the wall is actually a very calculated set pattern. There is a tempo to these voids as the as they grow larger and smaller, horizontally and vertically. The pattern defi nes the varied amounts of light that passes though the voids creating lively pattern of contrast of light and dark.

Carnal ClaySpring 2011

Density Variation

Modular Sight Lines

Carnal Clay | 07