portfoliochoi ho

portfoliotable of contents

M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other Form, 2012-2013

M.Arch., University of ManitobaThe West Broadway Way of Vaulting, 2011-2012

Artist Residency, Plug In Institute of Contemporary ArtWorking Drawings (The Template Maker of West Broadway), 2012

Hons. B.A., University of TorontoFold: Urban Insert/Public Space, 2002

Year 1, M.Arch., University of TorontoHouse for an Aerial Photographer, 2004

M.Arch., Bartlett School of Architecture, University College LondonDestabilized Geographies, 2007-2009

St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School Mural Project, TorontoThe Giving Tree, 2010-2011

Bike Winnipeg with Jock Dad, WinnipegLet’s Band and Bike an Abandoned Winnipeg, 2013

YYZ Gallery Exhibition Competition, Paper Architecture, TorontoPsychotopes: Future Visions of the City, 2003

Design Beyond East & West Design Competition, Paper Architecture, AsiaBeautiful Emotional Household Robot (BEHR), 2002

White House Redux Competition, The Royal United States Architects, WashingtonToday, Has Become An Easy Target, 2008

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howdy old first ward resident!

nobody was in this afternoon, boo. so i leave you this letter in hopes that we may be in contact soon.

my name is choi. im a master of architecture student at the university of manitoba in winnipeg, canada. there are 12 of us visiting buffalo this week until sunday, my colleagues and my professor that is.

im interested in studying/documenting buffalo’s first ward neighbourhood for my studio project. just yesterday, my class participated in a 5-hour walking tour of the grain elevators; despite the fatigue and hunger, i was astounded by these objects in the landscape. in your very yard fronts/back yards.

a week is not merely enough time to be familiar with buffalo let alone a neighbourhood as unique as the first ward. i must be efficient with my time here and work as best as i can with my first and later impressions of the first ward. my first step is to narrow my site of study to the residences that border within ohio street/st clair street/south street.

now this is where you come in! it is important for me to meet some of the people that live in the first ward. those who work and play in the first ward are also crucial but secondary to my studies at the moment. it would be my pleasure to have a discussion with you regarding the first ward (tell me anything) as well as the developments/existence of the grain elevators on site, in particular, the standard (adm/pillsbury) elevator that faces your home. i would also hope that you will allow me to photograph views from your property (both outdoors and indoors); for example, i would want to document how the standard elevator is experienced from your living room couch, lying down in your bed, or from your porch etc.

i understand this sounds very intimate or intrusive depending on how you see it. so please do not hesitate to contact me via phone/text/email to further discuss my intentions and how you can assist me in my studio project.

if it is more appropriate, i will be at the ohio street: the situation is now, this is an architectural panel discussion on the future of ohio street tonight (october 18th) 7pm-830pm at the first ward community centre on 62 republic street. i will be wearing a grey collared sweater with burgundy jeans and a blue backpack with a yellow maple leaf...please look for me, tap my shoulder, and introduce yourself.

my contact information:phone/text: 1 (647) 209-9795 (canada)hostel buffalo niagara: (716) 852-5222 (room 302)email: hocy@cc.umanitoba.ca

thanks ahead of time, i hope to meet you soonchoi ho

M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormHowdy Old First Ward Residents2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

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Well those are the pic I took from in the house, backyard' and side of the house hope they will help u with your study's let me kn if u got them! Just tex back!! U left a paper in my mailbox 81 Louisiana st Buffalo NY

tina’s reply, email exchange, 2012

within an hour after delivering my letter to the residences bordering ohio street/st clair street/south street, i got my first response! a brief text message from tina with an attached photo as a bonus. from the onset i was overjoyed because one response is better than zero response but i later realized and to my dismay that tina must not have read my letter in detail. i specifically pointed out that it was me who wanted to take on the role of photographer, to have that amount of control in the direction of my site documenting. as the evening progressed and with no additional responses, i resorted to making do. in the end, i not only claimed authorship over tina’s words and photographs, i also gained from and saw value in this unforeseen.

view of standard elevator from inside 81 louisiana street: (top-bottom) initial picture text message from tina and subsequent emailed photographs

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M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormThe Misfit2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

misfit drawing: pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), various scales, 24inx36in

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the misfit (drawing) was produced relying heavily on a intuitive process. the parts that make up the misfit drew from various contexts including geographical/physical attributes particular to the site, the histories of the old first ward and silo city, american vernacular housing typologies, the modern movement’s ode to the monument, theories on aesthetics (the beautiful/the ugly), etc..

after composing a number of scales to be intentionally viewed as one scale, one form, the misfit drawing revealed parallels between the scale of the house and the scale of a single concrete grain elevator storage bin.

(top) in the garage with noreen(top left) view of 51 south street and concrete standard elevator looking south from tennessee street: photograph by noreen (left middle) misfit scale: picture text message from tina(left bottom) scale parallels, misfit drawing

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intuition acknowledges the real’s capacity to be otherwise, its ability to

become more and other

M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormThe Third Typology2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

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invention is liberty within rules…every invention consists in a new combination of

preexisting elements…one invents what does not exist in physical reality

an other crawlspace

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M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormThe Model2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

the third typology (darkroom/the model): pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), 1:50 scale, 24x36in

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the word type represents not so much the image of a thing to be copied or perfectly imitated as the idea of an element that must itself serve as a rule for the model…the model, understood in terms of the practical execution of art, is an object that must be repeated such as it is; type, on the contrary, is an object according to which one can conceive works that do not resemble one another at all. everything is precise and given in the model; everything is more or less vague in the type

-aldo rossi on a.c. quatremere de quincy’s definition of type, the architecture of the city, 1982

the model: photo montage, 1:50 scale, 24inx36in

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M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormThe 300 Ohio Street Housing Project2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

the 300 ohio street housing project, tower 1 (river), 5F/10F floor plan: computer drafted (coloured digitally)

with regards to concrete, its massive and monolithic quality provides a level of permanence (“completeness”) thatis essential to meeting the intent of the 300 ohio street housing project. what then is concrete? it is column, beam,roof, floor, wall, footing, foundation, even envelope and paving. this versatility of the material allows the architecture to stand on its own, figuratively and literally, as is, to present its barest qualities, that of which speaks to usefulness, prosperity, and commerce (much like the concrete grain elevators of silo city’s past). the building is therefore “complete” once structural, daylighting, mechanical and electrical, as well as egress systems are accounted for, then, the architecture is ready for its unbecoming.

with regards to timber, it is the ideal material of choice to contrast the permanence of cast in place concrete (an “incompleteness”), to bring material warmth and lightness to the 300 ohio street housing project. more so, timber frame construction is a vital component for the purposes of customization due to timber’s easy workability where adaptation and informality will prevail. as it stands, timber frame construction exists once flexibility and inventiveness (work to be “complete”) is demanded and/or desired. this is the pivotal point in the process that begins to shape and shift, give real meaning, to the 300 ohio street housing project and the architecture of the city.

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an open wall (knock out wall) system will be developed utilizing cast in place concrete construction, specifically, to facilitate (and inventively) later adaptations to the 300 ohio street housing project.

(top) (right)conceptual models, timber frame customization/becoming: millboard, basswood, 1:50 scale

initial “incomplete” form

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the architect’s approach for the 300 ohio street housing project is to create/enable conditions that allow for the focus of individual authorship while introducing the strengthening benefits of creative and collective input, for construction to be done but not necessarily end. the architect’s known objective is to bring formality and inventiveness to the process to ensure its success; to play a role in helping people improve their housing so they could willingly modify/construct their spaces without taking away their agency.

the role of social life is thus brought to the fore of the 300 ohio street housing project: we discover how societal models are developed, how forms of cooperation and cohabitation evolve, and how new rules emerge and become established. finally, we learn about the social implications of the architecture of the city and the possibilities of using architecture structures in ways for which they were not originally intended for, that is, the unknown and informal pursuits of the 300 ohio street housing project.

1 year into “completion” 10 years into “completion”

M.Arch., University of ManitobaBecoming/Unbecoming An Other FormThe 300 Ohio Street Housing Project2012-2013Thesis Advisor: Ralph Glor

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M.Arch., University of ManitobaThe West Broadway Way of Vaulting“The Pit”2011-2012Advisor: Neil Minuk

template F, axonometric details of cantilevered vault with column, and “the pit” as built in succession (steel formwork and rammed earth): pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), 1:50 scale, 24inx36in

(top-bottom)template C, section through “the pit”, future enabling foundations: pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), 1:50 scale, 24inx36intemplate D, section through “the pit”, cantilevered vaulting as enclosure: pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), 1:50 scale, 24inx36in

“the pit”:

embedded deep below the surface is a template for enabling processes and people, and symbolic of that which is and evolves the grain of the site. the west broadway way of vaulting is local, messy, and robust.

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template E, section through “the pit”, shifting terrain: pencil on vellum (coloured digitally), 1:75 scale, 24inx36in

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M.Arch., University of ManitobaThe West Broadway Way of Vaulting2011-2012Advisor: Neil Minuk

(left) tent peg mapping:

a means to understand the nuances of the altered site, to provide some intentionality for things that start to matter in terms of a site of social ability, and to accept my role as a person who can see the possibilities of a co-operative design/structure

occupy winnipeg, memorial park

(right) the practice sheet:

a revealing of an interface for co-operative living, a duality of sorts, the infrastructure for the structure, a shifting and evolving terrain, and an enabling process worthy of further pursuit

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the practice sheet: twill fabric, grey thread, copy paper, white thread, eyelets, photographs, 24inx24in

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Artist Residency, Plug In Institute of Contemporary ArtWorking Drawings (The Template Maker of West Broadway)2012

working drawings seeks to communicate information through a particular language and are read in the context of a much larger relational network. as artifacts, the drawings are read in numerous ways by different parties. as narratives they are the primary means by which the architect communicates his/her intention for construction. working drawings thus acts as an interface between the thinking and building processes. i seek to produce, in secession, a series of templates or working drawings that express how knowledge and instructions as well as inventiveness is passed on or lost from one entity to the other. research and experimentation as well as a sort of exquisite corpse technique will guide the making of the drawings and the maker of the template. materially speaking, templates could initially be drawn on paper and pen before being transferred to another material or person or thing. the result being something perhaps controlled or lack thereof, mostly one that is driven by process, a build up of many parts leading to the formation and unity of a whole.

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folding in architecture governs the organization and intersection of planes in creation and the inter-relation of spatial and programmatic entities. a single plane does not define a space (unless it is given thickness and an interior). planes in combination define space; this provides for a loose connective framework that can directly link the building and vice versa. folding locates the discussion of space to the constituent built elements and their relation. as a strategy, it accepts zoning and functional program, but it digests it in fragments rather than accepting it in discreet undifferentiated wholes.

Hons. B.A., University of TorontoFold: Urban Insert/Public Space2002Advisor: Tom Bessai

preliminary building plans: black ink on traceaxonometric building diagram: coloured pens on manilla paper

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twist-wall/roof/wall

ground/roof

wall/ground/in/ground/out

outside/inside

(left) diagrammatic folds: ink on white paper(above) concept model: craft sheet metal, black sewing thread,sewing pins, balsa sticks, white foamcore, transparent tape

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Year 1, M.Arch., University of TorontoHouse for an Aerial Photographer2004Advisor: Shane Williamson

(foreground centre) site plan: lead on paper, 1:100 scale(top left) building plans and elevations: lead on opaque white paper, 1:50 scale

our second project established a minimal but specific set of rules in promotion of an emergent two-dimensional pattern/composition that was subsequently analyzed and projected into a three dimensional form. now you are asked to reinterpret your previous relief model as a landscape and as a site for the following exercise: you are given three boxes measuring 2mx9mx3m, 6mx6mx6m, 2mx4mx3m. isolate a 6m wide x 18m long area within the geometric landscape of your previous flowline relief model which should now be considered as a 1:50 scaled artifact. combine and alter the given boxes to create a dwelling for an aerial photographer. the boxes may be manipulated by any consistent formal logic. the formal logic or process which organizes and transforms the boxes must be conceptually related to the occupation of its inhabitant.

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(full spread) building models: concept, preliminaries, and final, millboard, basswood, acrylic, 1:50 scale(bottom right) building axonometric: lead on opaque white paper, 1:50 scale(middle top) building sections, circulation, and darkroom spaces: lead on opaque white paper, 1:50 scale

dark

room

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i pulled the skin over my head,preliminary sketches for cian: a5, pen on paper

and made another man put on the skin and we fuckedxerox of the sexual apparatus: seville fabric, white (code 68821801), stuffed,gutermann ca 02776, 100% polyester, 7in

bobbi n sew n: photograph, digital print out, xerox, 30cmx42cm

exquisite corpse, post operation desexk findings: among surrealist techniques exploiting the mystique of accident was a kind of collective collage of words or images called the cadavre exquis. the exquisite/corpse/will drink/the new/wine. creating a single, unified and otherwise unique work that could not be created any other way. flexibility, creativity, humour, and openness are indispensable. so, you want to play?

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natural grass ceiling with outhouse, inside studio b01space slips away like sand between fingers, carried off by time. nothing looksany more like it was. what has remained are fragments, scratches, traces... -jeffery shaw & tjebbe van tijen, literary psychogeography, 1991

size matters, studio b01: 1:1 scale

M.Arch., Bartlett School of Architecture, University College LondonDestabilized Geographies

2007-2009Thesis Advisor: Simon Herron

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hello principal manuela,

i have attached a jpeg of my idea for the cut outs and outdoor mural. in keeping with our organization’s mission and your desire to further promote the environmental improvements occurring at your school, i am choosing a tree as the subject for the mural. A tree is fitting because it correlates with the growth and nurturing that happens in school as well as notions of stability and foundation (i envision your school motto spelled out in the roots of the tree). more so, the cut out leaves would allow every child to contribute their own painted work to the project, something to feel proud of as they share that news to their friends teachers and family. should this idea interest you, i can elaborate more another time.

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St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School Mural Project, TorontoThe Giving Tree2010-2011GreenHereProject Leader: Choi HoDesign Volunteers: Cassandra Alves, Leanna Manning

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7/12/13 LETS BAND AND BIKE AN ABANDONED WINNIPEG

https://www.facebook.com/events/152886031562917/ 1/5

View Declines

Wednesday, 3 July 2013 20:00 until 22:30

TWO OF MY PASSIONS:biking and architecture!

EVENT:WINNIPEG has its gems...buildings/spaces/urban landscapes that speak of abandonment...im planning a route of 5-8 places we can ride to...places in particular that remind, silence, romanticize, and haunt...

DATE:wednesday july 3rd 2013

MEET TIME:8pm (depart by 830pm)

MEET LOCATION:memorial (provincial) park, by the fountain!http://goo.gl/maps/0fYl3

AS PER USUAL:if the weather sucks im gonna cancel...bring water, a helmet, night lights! (flashlight), snacks, first aid...ill bring a bike pump, maps, and stories

CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT:im personally not interested in "entering" any of these places...i ride my bike with one hand while the other is snapping pics...thats bout the most adventure i can handle for one outing...

ANYWHO:

scare me a comment/question if need be...choi AKA jock dad

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28

Bike Winnipeg with Jock Dad, WinnipegLet’s Band and Bike an Abandoned Winnipeg2013Choi Ho AKA Jock Dad

site #2: 432 assiniboine, winnipegoutside the mathewson house (architect charles wheeler, who once received a letter from almon cotton, the wheat king!)

picture flip books (to attach to bicycle handlebars) getting dark at site #5: st. boniface water tower, winnipeg

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to emphasize the inherent aspect of the future in the present, paper architecture opted for a blind process for this project. each member, equipped with a camera, was sent out into the city to take photographs of sites that were of interest to them who then had the task of zooming in to a point of interest in the images. these blown up photographs were sent between members once more so that by the end of the second phase each had passed through every member of the group. presented with abstracted fragments of the present cityscape, members were asked to come up with future narratives for the sites; these narratives would tap into the limitless possibilities for each location while maintaining that the future is derived from the present fabric of toronto’s urbanity. paper architecture thus provides a vague suggestive approach to future visions that does not limit possible outcomes and that allows viewers to visualize, through their imagination, their own distinct and significant outcomes.

YYZ Gallery Exhibition Competition, Paper Architecture, TorontoPsychotopes: Future Visions of the City2003Choi Ho, Sean Bailey, Athina Gatos

8 of 12 psychotopes: photograph, scan, blow-up, exchange, exchange, future vision

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i see the rupture and ultimate collapse of token structures such as the historic cn tower. a new skyline develops that blurs the division between built form and the natural landscape

blind process: final email exchange between members

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behr floor plan and sensors layout: digital rendering

Design Beyond East & West Design Competition, Paper Architecture, AsiaBeautiful Emotional Household Robot (BEHR)2002Choi Ho, Sean Bailey

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behr sections: (top-bottom) happiness, indifference, angerdigital rendering

behr perspective, LED display screen: digital rendering

beautiful emotional household robot (behr) promotes healthy family living by rewarding the appropriate family behaviours while punishing dysfunctional lifestyles. fitted with sensors that detect everything from motion to noise levels, behr reacts emotionally to the interactions of individuals within its walls. if behr is neglected, left unclean, left unused, it becomes angry with its inhabitants. if it is loved, cared for, maintained, respected, it expresses happiness. behr is layed out in order to maximize family interactions in the home while maintaining views of behr’s screen. the central living space in the home, which includes the living room, dining room, and kitchen is much larger than the bathroom, bedrooms, and storage spaces; this dispersal of space promotes communal use of the central spaces creating a healthy family atmosphere. family members spend time together in the shared spaces as opposed to privately in their rooms, encouraging activities such as spontaneous conversation between family members and a greater familiarity and comfort level with these individuals. the entranceway into the home emphasizes this central aspect further by siphoning all visitors into the central living zone.

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washington, dc metropolitan area housing prices

white house estimated 2007 value and equivalent dc single family housing units

320x$430,800

$138, 118, 000

with an assessed value of $2,511/sf, the white house itself is the 138 million dollar solution to both the security issue and the real estate woes beginning to face our nation’s capital

by selling the white house, a property that is virtually recession-proof because of its iconic status, more than 320 housing properties on the market throughout the city can be bought in exchange, providing a much needed boost to local property values

as americans become more concerned about the threat of attack against their nation and its leadership, the subprime mortgage crises has unrelatedly but no less significantly begun to seriously impact real estate values in washington, dc

THE WHITE HOUSE,today, is an easy target.

THE WHITE HOUSE,today, is an easy target

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locations of residential properties listed for sale white house geographic program dispersal

while at the same time, the singular target that is todays white house will be scattered throughout the city. instead of a white house, we propose a city of myriad white houses

no one will know which of the white houses contains the president at any given time, all neighbourhoods throughout the city will benefit from increased security, attention, and tourist activity. indeed, visitor lines to the white house will be a thing of the past, as many white houses will share the symbolic mantle carried today by one building alone, when the president’s location is revealed; it will be a true primus inter pares, a first among equals just down the block. meanwhile, the buyer of the old white house will be permitted to do with the property as he/she pleases

White House Redux Competition, The Royal United States Architects, WashingtonToday, Has Become An Easy Target2008Choi Ho, Sean Bailey, Jacob Reidel, Susan Surface