Taylor Chan's Portfolio

TAYLOR CHANArchitecture Portfolio

Illinois Institute of Technology ‘15

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EFFIGY TUMULI

AURORA BOREALIS OBSERVATORY

PG. 2

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03STUDY ABROAD PHOTOGRAPHY AND SKETCHES PG. 20

EFFIGY TUMULILandscape BarrierBuffalo Rock State Park, Ottowa IL 3

The first project this semester explores the intersection between architecture and land-scape. The objective is to exploring masonry in a very fundamental and even ancient manner since it will require making walls, gates, paths, and a simple viewing platform from stone and earth.Buffalo Rock State Park in Ottowa, Illinois contains rich history with its ancient rock formations, and its new region called Effigy Tumuli, for its new land art. This project requires one to design a new entry for the site clearly demarking the boundary between the areas serving the east end of the park and the Effigy Tumuli site. The design is a cohesive combination of moving the earth, and cutting through the earth. With these two simple movements, a formation of gridded hills and slices of the earth taken out to provide a path and direc-tion, the combination provides access, movement, and an overlook to visitors.

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Many years ago, Native Americans ruled the bluff, protecting this sacred piece of land. They used all local materials on the island to create their shelters, plat-forms, and structures, wether it was made of stone, wood, or foliage. In honor of the first rulers of the land, 5 different land art sculptures were made on the shaved and well maintained site, also known as the Effigy Tumuli. The artist, Michael Heizer, used the Native American’s method of pushing and forming the ground to form mounds shaped as precious items of the area. There are five mounds shaped to the form of 5 native species to the Illinois River: water strider, turtle, catfish, frog, and snake. To this day, many visitors come to this park to explore the special spark the Native American’s thought about this place. The trails guide others to view the natural landscape as well as the dramatic and large land art.

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Effigy Tumuli 5 Land Art Existing trails

The overall site model to the left views shows the region of the park, from the Effigy Tumuli, surrounding vegetation, the river, the paths, and designated area for the barrier as exp-pressed with the dark rectangu-lar region. To convey a simple yet compelling concept, I used a basic grid to create an organized layout of hills, according to the movement of people. The south-ern access point played a role just as important as the north entrance, thus the having the grid continuing on the souther side. In order to create a path connecting the north to the south, an obvious path, cuts and weaves throughout the hills scars the land, and overall, shows the obvious boundary where man meets nature.

Site Model

Northern Boundary

Southern Boundary

The open hills allow visitors to take the given path, cut through the mounds, or to venture off the beaten pathin over the grassy hills. The cuts through the mounds are revealed with a layer of St. Petersburg Sandstone while the sliced peak of the mound is lined with a a dark black stone to immitate coal. Both St. Petersburg sandstone and coal are the two most commonly found stone types on the bluff. This effect reveals the bluff’s stone foundation and its ancient materials.

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AURORA BOREALIS OBSERVATORYResortRovaniemi, Finland,

The project is to create is a Northern Lights observatory located in one of the most extreme latitudes inhabited by Man, sur-rounded by lush, endless forests and nature in its purest form. A place where one can retreat for a few days to completely discon-nect from the daily routine and plunge head-first into a world of observation, relaxation, and learning. The design is a cohesive collection of small dwellings, sauna, observatories, res-taurant, and planetarium, all revolving around the concept of using light to create an experience for the visitors. Light is source that amazed hunters and gatherers millions of years ago, and even us today, about the aurora borealis. Light is the most vital aspect of architecture. It can create a completely differnet experience, just based on the amount of light. This project takes the ability of the manipulation, control, and play of light, and produces experiences unlike any other.

Light Study Models

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SUBMISSION BOARD for the ArchMedium Student Competition

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LIGHT: the source that amazed hunters and gatherers millions of years ago, and even us today, about the aurora borealis. Light is the most vital and time-less aspect of architecture. It can create a completely different experience, just based on the way light is captured and expressed. This project takes the ability of the manipulation, control, and play of light, and produces experiences unlike any other. The design is a cohesive collection of small intimate dwellings, sauna, observa-tories, restaurant, and planetarium, all revolving around the same concept of using light to create an experience for the visitors. As one approaches each building at night, the polished glass surface reflects the aurora borealis, signifying the arrival of your destination. Once one enters the the building, they wind their way through an intimate and dark hallway, clearing the mind of everything extraneous. A sudden release into an aperture of the sky sud-denly overwhelms the senses, allowing the visitor to absorb the light, and of course, the wondrous sight of the aurora borealis. By day, the glass exterior allows the white layer of granite underneath to reveal itself, camouflaging with the natural set-ting. Majority of the structure, besides the openings, are buried into the landscape, as if an archaic structure emerges from the dense earth.

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STUDY ABROAD PHOTOGRAPHY & SKETCHESCollege of Architecture Study Abroad ProgramScandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Sweden)

In the summer of 2011, I was selected to study abroad in Scandinavia with 15 other architecture students and 2 profes-sors. Throughout our backpacking journey through six Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, and Sweden), we were to observe and record the component parts of our experience. The exposure and immersion in the Nordic environment made me realize how important architec-ture responds to its surrounding setting and build environ-ment. Through the architecture’s space, materials, assembly, photography can express its form, function and experience. These photographs capture the shapes, folds, and curves of materials that change the way light reflects and penetrates the space, thus manipulating the experience.

8 HOUSECopenhagen, Denmark

BAGSVAERD CHURCHCopenhagen, Denmark

KNUT HAMSUN CENTERHamaroy, Norway

ST. MARK’S CHURCHStockholm, Sweden

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Architecture is expressed not only through the space formed, but by its materials, and assembly. The attention to detail, such as jointery, materials, and light, can change and enhance the architecture and its experience. Photographing these details, provides documentation of the physical expression of the buildings and allows one to comprehend of how contemporary and historic architecture of the Nordic countries have a regional undestanding of its unique climate, light, and building materials. With its harsh dark winters and its warm bright summers, Nordic architecture appropriately responds to the dramatic fluctiations of climate and sun conditions.



KARSAMAKI CHURCHKarsamaki, Finland


ROVANIEMI ART MUSEUMRovaniemi, Finland

Along with photography, our two professor taught us how to capture our sensory experience through sketches. Sketches help make a collective composition of how the architecture responds all the sensory components, including sound, light, climate, and site. Composing sketches for each building assists me with connect-ing the architecture with its response to the surrounding aspects. From the gen-eral space, to the fine assembly details, each collective page of sketches is a record of my experience.

8 HOUSECopenhagen, Denmark


ST. MARK’S CHURCHStockholm, Sweden

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Learning how to compose sketches has also provided me the valuable skills to organize and compose layouts for future presentations. With vignettes of perspec-tives, plans, elevations, details, and diagrams, a well composed page of drawings and sketches can express a clear understanding of the experience through the architecture.

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Taylor Chan's Portfolio

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