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TOMMY TSO Portfolio
TOM
MY
TSO
Portfolio
1D Linear Strings 2D Bezier Curve 3D Spiral Form
1D Linear Strings 2D Bezier Curve 3D Spiral Form
[18 spools of wool, 8 hours, two flights of stairs]2
4D Wear and Tear 5D Demolished by Fire Marshals
1D Linear Strings
2D Planar Bezier Curve
3D Formed Around the Stairs
4D Experienced in Sight and Touch
5D Demolished by the Fire Safety Regulations
4D Wear and Tear 5D Demolished by Fire Marshals
Twisted Parallel Installation, June 20073
BREADTHTHE SCIENCE OF RESILIENT SOLUTIONS
Design is not for philosophy it’s for life. - Issey Miyake
Like a soldier in the army, complex administration and narrowed
task designations can easily defocus an employed designer from the
larger promise of the profession. That is, at its essence, Architecture
is a solution business. Unlike Arts, it does not decorate first. Nor is it
Landscape, it does not regionalize first. Mostly, it is unlike Realty, it
does not profit first. Architecture is a humanitarian service first.
The core concepts of DIMENSIONS came from a previous project,
COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE. Professed as a mental model,
COLLAGE optimistically appreciates the reality of unoriginal
designs. Subsequently, it promotes fearlessness to copy and fuse
invented, local, but appropriate ideas as resolves. The results are
often unexpecting, but believably practical.
In the process of COLLAGE, selections were made to shortlist
local ideas for fusion. Curiously, ideas that made sense, and likely
made popular, are designs that have lasted and replicated. Like
the Italian red roof clay tiles, Israeli four-storey typology, American
skyscrappers, they are architectural products that have served well.
Since COLLAGE largely focused on fusions, the science of idea
selections was applied but not explored, not until now.
Greater ideas will always emerge and prevail because of their
ability to resiliently survive in all dimensions - with intent or by
accident. However as designers, in order to consistently make valid
contributions, our design canvas must stretch beyond the familiar
three dimensions. We must tangibly imagine in the fourth and fifth
realm where time and political finance matters.
This personal portfolio has been organized by the ideas of
Dimensions - its ideals, qualities, and deficiencies. Although each
project gallery may be ordered in chronology, the macro sequence
in this book is not. Because good ideas are not bound by time, scale,
or context, but they are appreciated for the breadth it capacitates.
TOM
MY
TSO
Portfolio
THE LINEAR RACEThe Tower of Babel is more than a biblical legend; it is
a timeless model of a simple innate human character,
to win. Since nature only permits the best, and the
world, of its 248752 cities, only shines at the highest.
That is why we race.
We race to climb the highest mountains and compete
for greater wealth. We boast about the largest airships
and the build the biggest boat. We make high scores
and keep records, document and advertise, all because
these races chase after temporary and sentimental
achievements.
Manhattan’s World Trade Centers were once the tallest
buildings in the world. The $2 billion dollar (current
value) estate held its status for 2 years, until the Willis
Tower (Sears Tower, Chicago) succeeded the title of
the tallest building. Apples-to-apples, all the apples are
uncharacteristically generic. Sooner or later, a sweeter
and fresher fruit will devalue the previous ace. It is
without complexity and capacity; this is world of the
first dimension.
FIR
ST
DIM
EN
SIO
N
Source: http://skyscraperpage.com
Burj Khalifa, 2010828 m
Shanghai WFC, 2008492 m
6
World’s Tallest Buildings, with WTC, by roof heights
Shanghai WFC, 2008492 m
World Trade Centers, 1973417 m
Petronas Towers, 1998452 m
7
from concept, then schematics, development, documentation, visualization, realization, and ends in evaluation
www.tommytso.com 010
TABLE OF CONTENTSCHRONOLOGY AND STORY TELLING[InDesign CS4]
1ST DIMENSION
Metropolis Bike Rack 018
Pine Lids 048
Cultura 064
Collage Architecture 2 094
Architecture Survey 022
Post-Carbon Mall 052
4TH DIMENSION
0TH DIMENSION
Collage Architecture 3 026
Air India Memorial 054
Winery 074
Curriculum Vitae 108
2ND DIMENSION
3RD DIMENSION
Ryerson Expo 058
Collage Architecture 1 078
Contacts 116
Lamp Trapeze 014
Nuit Blanche 040
Favela House 062
5TH DIMENSION
INFO PORTFOLIO CONTACT
Start
Table of Contents 008
8
from concept, then schematics, development, documentation, visualization, realization, and ends in evaluation
TABLE OF CONTENTSCHRONOLOGY AND STORY TELLING[InDesign CS4]
CONTACT S M L XL ART COLLAGE
UN
TIL
THE
STO
RY
EN
DS
9
My architectural stories are told in linear chronology. It conveys
my rational process in hopes to provoke a concordance. The
presentation format is sequenced in a linear belt. It will always start
from the concept, then schematics, development, documentation,
visualization, realization, and ends in evaluation. Without ornaments,
the object of communication is genuineness.
WWW.TOMMYTSO.COMCHRONOLOGY AND MARKETING[Flash CS4, InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4, Wix Editor]
My World Wide Web Citizenship
My architectural stories presented chronologically in a linear belt, with beginning,
middle, and end.
10
The Browser is simply a crop box that displays my design chronology in increments.
Navigation Control (Left)
The website is live in October of 2011. Bound only within the confines
of a browser window, the linear presentation is flexibly cropped.
Readers can scroll, slide, and click through the story using scroll
bars, roll-overs, and navigational buttons, respectively.
WWW.TOMMYTSO.COM is the primary front of public relations. All
news, recent works, and bio make their first publications there.11
Source: http:// http://911research.wtc7.net
THE OPTIMAL PLAN Designs ideas are translated onto technologies like
computers monitors, paper sketches, and blueprints. In
these documents, orthographic projections - such as
plans, elevations, and sections - accurately illustrate the
built geometries. Then, these drawings are governed
by regional building codes and by-laws. These rules
are written largely in orthogonal language: the gross
floor area are plans, glazing ratio are elevations, and
setbacks are both limits for plans and elevations.
Even with these tools, copy-and-describe are unlikely
the only scopes for Architects. Clients and developers
expect meaningful strategies tailored to increase their
operation or maximize marketable space. As such,
many projects usually rivet in floor plan layouts. The
method is rightful, but the floor plan focus can often
over-dominate the design process.
The World Trade Centers were designed to optimize
useable floor spaces. Architect Yamasaki introduced a
stacked junctional elevator system that can substantially
reduce core structural shafts. He also added versitility;
where all office areas are uninterrupted by columns.
Engineers pioneered an exo-skeleton where 236 steel
columns ensured the integrity of each tower and offer
the Architectural needs Yamasaki desires. The optimal
plan left no room or budget the elevation design. The
final form was no more than an extrusion of the floor
plans.
On September 11, tragedy was made when airplanes
took out critical exterior structures. It left the columnless
office areas unsupported. It was the worst price to pay
when the extra dimensions were not accounted for in a
product of seond dimension.
12
World Trade Center Typical Office Floor Plan13
LAMP TRAPEZEDIGITAL FABRICATION
14
15
BREADTHARCHITECTURE FOR[AutoCAD 2010, Laser cutter,
Illustrator CS4, Rhinoceros 4.0]
The tools of Computer-Aided-
Manufacturing (CAM) introduces a
level of intracacy and proficiency
unachieveable by hand. Given
two 800X400 sheets of acrylic and
vellum, a pendent lamp is designed
to be flat-packed and assembled in
30 minutes. Much like the schematics
of an IKEA product, the lamp will be
given with a set of comprehensive
instruction, written for the non-
architectural laymen (Right).
The tectonics of the lamp structure is
expressed with the truthful display of
click-snap connectors. These joints
link up the main structural frame.
From afar, the lamp may look slightly
distorted, but this is intentional. All 40
pieces of the main lamp structures
are unique; a gentle shape shift helps
create the subtle warp in the overall
form. Attached on top of the exo-
skeleton is a shell of thin vellum that
diffuses the light. Layer by layers, the
2D pieces becomes 3D.
All components have been designed
for the efficiency of planar production.
It is so that a 3D work of art can be
realized and perhaps replicated.
METROPOLIS BIKE RACKA CONTEMPORARY RENDITION OF AN ICON[Rhinoceros 4.0, AutoCAD 2010, 3D printer, Photoshop CS4]
A new need for bike racks arises as the population of Torontonian
cyclists grew. Although this traditional means of commuting is not
known for eccentric innovations, the design of a new bike rack will
reflect the recently renewed motivation to bicycle in the city. So,
the bike rack must remain locally familiar yet surprisingly refreshing.
It must welcome cyclist to park but remains beautiful without one.
When this culture is revived, so does the street life of metro Toronto.
3RD
PLA
CE
Before it ambitiously become the city’s bike rack, it must be tested in Toronto’s Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. This memorial site laid many celebrities to rest. In respect, visitors treat this park with extra care and gratitude. Today, the cemetery has become one of the most popular cycling grounds in downtown. It is only fitting to have the first prototype here.
18
Photo: the original Toronto Bike Rack19
The concept is to rasterize an inverse image of the iconic Toronto
bike rack. The process of rasterization is similar to poster printing.
Unlike fine printing, from a book-reading distance, pixels of a
monochromatic image look like varying sizes of dots. Using
Computer-Aided-Manufacturing (CAM), these dots are translatesd
as holes that can be cut out of a sheet of alluminium. The engraved
and cut metal is then rolled and embeded in a concrete footing.This
new bike rack turns the function of locking bicycles into an urban art.
20
3D printed model: the rasterized image21
ARCHITECTURE SURVEYPROFESSIONAL WORK[AutoCAD 2009]
Architectural Site Plan
ArchitecturalGround Floor
22
Architectural 2nd Floor
ArchitecturalBasement
Survey and Document a 5 Storey Commercial Building
23
BREADTHARCHITECTURE FOR REALITYSearching for a formula of design is like finding a cure for mutated
cells; it’s difficult. Unfortunately, this reality does not quench our
thirst for idealogies. As rationalists in a rational world, when our
patrons has overloaded our capacity to reason against ‘economical’
alternatives, the average designer recedes from critical design
decisions, allowing non-architects to make architectural decisions.
We must revolt; (1) Eradicate our utopian fantasies, (2) Actively
abide a joint position with the client, (3) turn economical and political
ori nos es illaborit am sunt reicid ut p
As requested from a real estate client, an updated set of digital
documentations to a five-storey commercial building will more
accurately determine the rentable space for tenants. Previously,
the building blueprints were in microscans. They have a very low
level of resolution and they are not conveniently accessible. So, the
new drawing set will document the building in vector resolutions. It
will provide the architectural floor plans, elevations, and mechanical
ceiling plans. The job requires multiple site visits and a trip to city
hall. This three-week project has been entirely conducted, drawn,
and presented independently.
MechanicalGround Floor
Searching for a formula of design is like finding a cure for mutated
cells; it’s difficult. Unfortunately, this reality does not quench our
thirst for idealogies. As rationalists in a rational world, when our
patrons has overloaded our capacity to reason against ‘economical’
alternatives, the average designer recedes from critical design
decisions, allowing non-architects to make architectural decisions.
We must revolt; (1) Eradicate our utopian fantasies, (2) Actively
abide a joint position with the client, (3) turn economical and political
ori nos es illaborit am sunt reicid ut p
Mechanical2nd Floor
MechanicalBasement
COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE 3THE SKETCHING ADVOCATE[Black marker pen, InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4]
Collage Archtiecture: Sketching is an extension to the series
COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE - a methodology conceived in a
Historical Conservation Studio, 2010. It premise on the idea that
design is not original, and that all innovative concepts are merely
a collage of preceding ideas. “This is not a pessimistic whine, but
a realistic appreciation. Only when a designer recognizes this
(collaged) phenomenon can he be free to imagine all things, charter
all territories…”
The hierarchy in the quickness of idea processing begins
with thinking at the top, follow by speaking, sketching, sketch
modeling, drawing, and then digital modeling. Unfortunately, since
technological exploitation has perverted the architectural profession
with excessively detailed visualizations, schematic drawings have
lost its variable and disputable character. The thirst for realistic
renderings and digitization has diverted the effort for quick graphic
communication to fine tuning computer settings; tweaking lighting
magnitudes and pixel resolutions are parts in brainstorming today.
As architects, it is critical that we understand the diverity and
application of this technologies. Renderings and digital modelling,
for instance, are credible for accurate depictions. They become
suitable in the project development phases. Similarly, drawings and
physical modelling are methods that can appropriately consolidate
ideas in the final schematics phase. However, in the early periods
of brainstorming, where our focus cannot be diverted from the
complexity of detailed production, free-sketching reigns superior.
Sketching explores the various approaches, styles, attitudes,
techniques, and factors of quick visualizations. The product of
each set of trails will consolidate into an architectural image for the
end. This product hopes to become accessible and benign to the
audience that appreciates not just the form, but the operations and
conversations that derives it.26
(Top) Book Cover, The Black Pen (Bottom) The Site 1940-70, 2000-10
27
SKETCHES COLLAGED
Since the nature of the site allows the architectural form to have two
primary facades, the design objective will be to create a north and
west facing plane. However, rather than making arbitrary blends of
‘things’, I will use the local elements as resource and then collage
together for a design. This can be anything from street lamps to
billboards, buildings to cars.
Next, the architectural elements in one direct (North, South, East,
or West) will be collected as fragments used to compose one facade
of the corresponding direction. This means, elements in the view
East and West will be used to collage the West facing wall of the
new building. Similarly, elements in the view North and South will
be used to collage the North facing wall of the building. In summary,
the process is to first dissect the site, then reassemble these sketch
pieces, and finally formulate a formal proposal we call the rendering.
28
SiteWest 1
SiteWest 1
SiteWest 1
SiteWest 1
(Top, bottom) Dissecting the site in TEXTURE, SHADING, MASSING, PROGRAM
29
32
The North Facade: A Sum
33
34
The West Facade: A Sum
35
THE FINAL SUMMARYThe sum of all the sketches consolidates as one final image we call the architectural rendering. This is that proposal.
36
37
FREEDOM TOWERSModernism promised a world of simple order and
genuine minimalism. With the strip windows, open
concept, and towers of repetitive floor plans, many
great American city has boomed and sprawled. The
simplification may have relieve urban chaos, but
the process has demeaned many of our spaces to
mere horizontality. Today, verticle translations within
a building has confined to moving cages we call
elevators, and sloped grounds have become a stigma
of inefficiency. Buildings may exist in length, width, and
height, but without access or experience, not all of the
dimensions are affable.
The high-rise typology has become an urban
predicament. While its capacity revolutionalize urban
expansions, it has also imprisoned wealthy patrons in
expensive glass boxes. Urbanist Jane Jacobs once
recognized the sociocultural qualities of mid-rise
apartments because residents can have their “eyes
on the street” - a place where they can sentimentally
own. In order to re-integrate these airborne buildings
back on the urban fabric, stratification must happen. It
must happen in all levels beginning at grade: ground
floor commerce, second level patio, third level retail...
fifteenth level amenity sky-lobbies are all means to
free the population in the stacked cities of horizontal
prisons.
The World Trade Centers were once the obelisks of
Manhattan. Like any other monuments in town, they
are museum artifacts used for viewing only. While
office workers enjoy columnless interiors, down on the
street, wanderers are orientating around a cage-like
landmark that might as well be its stone predecessor.
For many reason, if the World Trade Center had other
means of verticle transport and urban integration, it
would have improved, or perhaps saved many more
lives. Considering designs in all faces of the cube is
practicing the third dimension.
Source: Baldwin Lee, http://baldwinlee.com/38
World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, 197539
NUIT BLANCHENIGHTTIME INSTALLATION[AutoCAD 2010, Rhinoceros 4.0, InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4]
To study the vulnerability of space, a responsive mechanical dialetic
is thrown in between the user and their immediate space. As the
participants moves through the pavilion, they are given the freedom
to augment their intrusive surrounding in order to find comfort, or
rudimentarily a way through. The design development of the project
was divided into three areas: structure, tubes and lights, and the
motion mechanism.
The Assembly Components of the Installation, 1-meter wall sample40
The Intrusiveness and Vulnerability of Space
Early sketches: the movement of pavilion visitors
Early sketches: the provoking experience walking through
41
The Walk-thruThe Interface
The Mechanisms
Tube: the First Prototype of the Pneumatic Interface
Tube: In the Manufacturing Line
Structure: Flat-Packed and sorted
Structure: Laser-Cutter, CAM
Tube: Manual routering
44
Tube: the Final Design of the Pneumatic Interface
Tube: In the Assembly Line
Structure: Testing the Prototype
Structure: On Assembly Day
Tube: On Assembly Day
45
46
Completed: the tectonics of structure, light, and pneumatics 47
PINE LIDSBIRD FEEDER[AutoCAD 08, Photoshop CS3]
Waste does not exist in nature.
Using common Canadian trash,
coffie cup lids, stirs, copper wires,
and a specific system of knitting,
a bird feeder is made.
HO
NO
UR
AB
LE M
ENTI
ON
48
2008
Selected to display in Toronto’s anual
Completed: the Seed Pods
On Exhibition
Common Waste: Coffee Lids
Common Waste: Coffee Stirs
Lids Assembly: Seed Pods
Stirs: reinforced by copper 49
1 Hanger
5 Caps
Suspension Supports
3 Seed Pods
4 Trays
POST-CARBON MALLREVISING AMERICAN COMMERCE[Sketchup 6, Podium, Photoshop CS3, InDesign CS3]
Although the original intent of the American strip mall
was to centralize suburban commerce, the result has
been the creation of alienating buildings imposed in an
asphalt sea of parking, with little to no greens. Today,
they merely become a quick stop and little more.
The design begins with zoning; a change to mixed-
use injects new diversity in program and social
class. The over-designed parking lot will turn into
farmer’s markets, urban farming, playgrounds,
outdoor theatres, patio eateries, and a reservoir that
manages grey water in the summer and becomes a
skating arena in the winter. Atop the low-rise mall,
new private homes will offset the unbalanced daily
use. Traditionally, malls had been designed to serve
cars, but the post-carbon strip mall will adjust its focus
back on the people. This is the making of a walkable,
diverse, and therefore exciting community center.
1ST
PLA
CE
Strip MallExisting Residential Renewal: Greenhouse, green wall, front gate...
Parking Lane
Driving Lane
Parking Lot
Publication
Asphalt vs Green
52
Phasing the Development
Existing
Over-Designed Parking
Vegetation
Housing
Urban Farms
From asphalt to lush, imports to local, and cars to pedestrians
Diversity of Planning: Housing, Greens, Commerce, Pedestrians, Food, and Water
New Residences atop the MallStrip Mall
Allotment Gardens and Sub-level Parking
Urban Eatery and Theatre
Occupied by the New Farmers’ Market
53
AIR INDIA MEMORIALREMEMBERING A CANADIAN TRAGEDY[AutoCAD 2008, 3Ds Max 2008, Photoshop CS4]
The Air India tragedy is Canada’s very own Sept 11. At the time of
the terrorist attack, the Canadian government underrated the event
and denounced its own legal citizens. Uproars of mistreatment have
never rested. As a resolution, the Memorial will repair this fault.
In minimalist clarity, the design parti is a circle, which signifies
unity. Tracing the circumference, two long ramps gently decends its
visitors in a figurative reenactment of the plane fall. Below ground,
an isolated rememberance hall is filled with the music of rushing
Atlantic waves. Coincidentally, the waters was also where the victims
descended to. Above the head, an oculus pours in a divine light.
On the wall, the names of the lost ones are organized according
to each person’s polar orientation of their “Canadian Home”. Upon
exit, visitors ascend up the other ramp and ends in a garden, where
brightness and hope becomes their last moment of memorial.
1ST
PLA
CE
Plan: Ramp, Garden, and Oculus
Structure: Post and Beam
Circulation
Each name on the wall is in the direction of their “Native Home”
54
The tone and scale of the memorial is humbly appropriate its intent
Against the cold winter skies, the memorial is divinely illuminated
A Quieting Walk Down the RampThe Garden of Hope at grade
In Silent Rememberance55
Geometry and Iconography
(Top) Early Sketches (Bottom) Final Technical Resolve
RYERSON EXPOAN URBAN CANVAS[AutoCAD 2008, 3Ds Max 2008, Photoshop CS3]
It is an open forum for students and the community to academically
and socially interact, the site’s distinctinve lines are dividers for
booths during various exposition events. Key features included the
central podium, benches, and sounds from a water feature.
2ND
PLA
CE
Lunch, study, or relax at the podium
Concrete slabs offer generic and innate divisions useful for fairs and events
Competition Model
58
“Next group meeting...meet at the podium at the EXPO”
Urban Serenity: Washed in the Sound of Water from the Fountain
Like a canvas, the EXPO offers simplicity, clarity, and variability
59
Podium Concepts
Programmatic Divisions Key Map
Fall: Back to School
Summer: Convocation
Spring: Study Week
Winter: Ice Festival
60
Bench Details
61
FAVELA HOUSEINFORMAL HOUSING IN BELO HORIZONTE[Revit Architecture 2008, Photoshop CS3]
Belo Horizonte in Brazil has one of the largest Favela communities in
the world. These informal housing are constructed using traditional
materials like bricks, concrete, and wood. The buidling size is often
a reflection of necessity and affordabiity. To optimize space, this
project introduces a foreign method of programmatic organization.
Inspired by the Japanese house, the public and private quarters
are vertically divided by a transitional staircase. This minimize
unnecessary corridors and adds a sense of clarity for its inhabitants.
Structures in RevitBuilding Plans
Building Section62
Work RoomThe Staircase Corridor
Living Room
Design: the central screen wall is the staircase. On the right are all private spaces like bedrooms, and on the left are all public places like the living room
63
CULTURAAN URBAN CATALYST[Revit Arch 2009, Photoshop CS3]
Cultura is a mixed-use development
designed as an urban catalysts for
Toronto’s emerging High Street,
Bloor Street. The building sits in
the midst of six presences. Most
notably, due Southeast is the
ROM (museum), due Southwest is
RCM (music hall), and due East,
which is also the larger side of the
narrow site, a 100m tall residential
tower just 5.5m away. In resolution,
the facade is corrigated and
reorientated. This will frame new
views to the ROM and RCM, and
turn away from the tower due East.
This is the traditional structure grid.
To adapt to the site, the grid rotates.
In towers, residents are prisoners.
Now, residents are neighboursThe 6 Major Site Influences
University of Toronto
Royal Conservatory
of Music
Exhibition Residence 100m tall
Medical Building
Site
Royal Ontario Museum
100m
tow
er
(5.5
m a
way
)10
0m to
wer
(5
.5m
aw
ay)
64
Red Marks the Entrance65
Parking Parking Lobby Retail
Retail Office Office Living
Living Living Living Living
Living Living Living Living
Living Living Living Living
Living Living Living Living
(Top) The Parti, the essence (Bottom) All 25 unique building plans
Facade Details
Full Floor Units
Office Units Retail Entry at ground then shop on the second floor.
Half Floor Units Welcome Home to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)
Hello,Libeskind
Ground Floor The lobby has a generous 6m ceiling.
High-End Units68
Street FrontRear Parking
The Tapestry of Windows and WallsThe Landscape of Balconies
69
East Elevation: What looks to be the largest facade is rotated to avoid the 100m wall
Electrical: Power is effectively distributed from a central panel on each floor
North Elevation: A landscape of balconies turns Cultura residents into neighbours
Mechanical: A boiler and chiller are responsible for the interior climate control
Panels are integrated into
the interior furnishing
Fan Coil Units in every bedroom and Large rooms
Roof top Units
Roof top Chiller
Basement Electrical Vault is in the
Mechanical Room
Basement Boiler Unit is in the
Mechanical RoomCity GridCity Grid
70
West Elevation: abuts a 9-storey medical building, therefore, no glazing
Building Facade: Prefab reduces errors, complexities, allows quicker assembly.
South Elevation: The lane on the East (left) services the entrance to parking on north
Structures: The core holds the elevators, garbage and mechanical shafts.
Core
Walls
Foundation
External Structural Wall
System
71
WITH TIMEThe architectural rendering is widely considered as
the profession’s best arsenal for public relations. Its
nickname, the money shot, evidently indicates its intent
to sell. Little do people know, or even the architect
realize, the rendering is a con.
Glossed in high colours and lighting effects, images
of a design proposal depicts the condition on opening
day. Perfect and new, thoughts of weathering and
aging are not apparent to the audience. We must
realize, Architecture was never about perfection;
thoughtful and artful imperfection are qualities that
make Architecture intrinsically affable and hollistically
humane: an inefficient long corridor agitates suspense,
a small half-wall creates the likely place for keys and
phones, the uninsulated basement room stores food,
and the crawspace below the porch hides trash bins,
all because of time. To have imperfections may be a
problem on opening day, but with time and adaptation,
the end users will come to love the building. You will
be surprised, when a family moves, they miss the
littlest pieces of imperfection that makes that old home
uniquely convinient.
Architecture does not appear in an instance, it lives
through time. If we don’t consider its possibility for
change, growth, and deterioration, it will not survive.
Like having an infant, if money weren’t saved before
conceiving one, parents are deemed irresponsible.
Why should that be different with Architects who do not
design with time and plan ahead?
When Architect Yamasaki designed the twin towers in
1962, its engineers insured that the building will stand
even in the face of an airplane attack. They were right.
What was not accounted for was the time. 56 minutes
and 2 seconds of incredible flames devalued the
structural capacity of steel and anything less. In truth,
the World Trade Center stood in the third dimension,
but it fell in the fourth dimension.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTh3OyfGx2072
World Trade Center, September 11, 2011, 09:02 AM73
WINERYFRICTIONLESS OPERATION AND GROWTH[AutoCAD 2008]
Wineries today are no longer simply factories, they are entertainment
facilities. It is a place where wine lovers can learn the science and
art of the drink they love. In design, the resolve is a site specific,
rational, and minimal building. It effectively services the production
team, administration office, and the consumers. These parties can
operate frictionlessly and independently while maintaining visual
connections. Most importantly, plans to expand are concieved form
the start. So if the winery naturally chooses to become popular and
then expands, it can in the most optimal way.
The triangle, circle, and rectangle.74
Rectangle: horizontally expandable factory traces the processingCircle: the vertically expandable drum services all visitors and staff
Triangle: the linear expandable office holds all administrators75
COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE 1THESIS: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL[Rhinoceros 4.0, AutoCAD 2010, InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4]
Only when we realize that design is about collaging, we can be
liberated from the fear to create. Understanding that there is no
single method of design, the iterative process becomes the ground
for originality. COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE is only a methodology,
not a fomula. So copy with care and copy with meanings.
While urban planners are busy remolding the city with large scale
revitalization strategies, architects are shortsighted, blinded from
seeing the communities they diminishes with the architecture they
manufacture - manifesting unintended singularities. Interpretation is
a culprit to unrealized visions. The solution is to devised a strategy
that guide designers within the regiem of a masterplan.
The southern region of Tel Aviv has the largest collection of modern
architecture. In this UNESCO heritage site is a manmade fissure,
the backyard of backyards. It was left behind by a demolished
railway that once gave life to its local neighbourhoods. In order to
repurpose this site, architecture must directly address the contextual
challenges, in a way where solutions are bluntly derived from its
problems.
All design decisions are based upon “super-function”. It will deny
all discussions of beauty and language because aesthetics is
merely subjective, and therefore temporal. In an ecology of energy
exchange, circulation cycle and growth tolerance, infrastructure
should become the new architecture, buildings should become
masterplans, and Architects should become Planners.
The Goal of All Architecture78
The Potential, but not the only, Architectural Outcome79
01 CHALLENGES: Identified
03 GENOTYPE: An Architectural Embryo that optimally grows with time
02 ADDRESSING Each Concern
Every program has a GENOTYPE
80
Bench Details04 GENES: Programs categorized in TYPES and in its need for SUN
Every program has a GENE
81
06 ECOSYSTEM: The network of energy exchange, which turns
05 BREEDING: Mating programs into mixed-use complexes based on the
82
coherence of building TYPES, their need for SUN, and growth with time
wasted resources of one program into energy by-products for another 83
09 MASTERPLAN
07 FORMALIZE: From 2D to 3D
RecreationIndustrial
84
Cultural Business
Power
Arts
Stage 1 Stage 4
Stage 3 Stage 6
Stage 2 Stage 5
Population 300 Population 1000
Population 600 Population 1500
Population 400 Population 1300
Recreation Business Power Arts
Cultural
Industrial Recreation Business Power Arts
Cultural
Industrial
08 TIME: The phases of growth
85
07 MASTERPLAN
SECTION
Education facility
Activity center
Wellness C
enter
WEST
IND
USTRIALS
ynagogue, A
mphitheatre
WEST
RECREATIO
NS
ports Hall, housing,
market
PARKSO
CIAL VO
ID
Allotm
ent Gardens
Mansion H
ouseP
rivate Ow
nership
Am
phitheatreFlorentineLive-w
ork units
Synagogue
EASTPO
WER
Greenhouse,
Night C
lub, E
nergy Plant
EASTARTSO
pera Hall
The Final Tower
AMALG
AMATIO
NA G
rowth C
onstriant typology
Activity Trail
Club
Energy P
lant
Opera H
ouseH
igher Education
Cafes &
eater-
Neve Tzedek
Rental U
nits
Offices
Hotels
Superm
arket
Farmer’s m
arketB
ike Route
86
PLAN
Edu
catio
n fa
cilit
y
Act
ivity
cen
ter
Farm
er’s
mar
ket
Wel
lnes
s C
ente
r
Allo
tmen
t Gar
dens
Man
sion
Hou
seP
rivat
e O
wne
rshi
p
Am
phith
eatre
Flor
entin
eLi
ve-w
ork
units
S
ynag
ogue
WES
TIN
DUS
TRIA
LS
ynag
ogue
, A
mph
ithea
tre
WES
TRE
CRE
ATIO
NS
ports
Hal
l, ho
usin
g,
mar
ket
PARK
SOC
IAL
VOID
Top
Mid
dle
Botto
mA
ctiv
ity T
rail
Clu
bE
nerg
y P
lant
Ope
ra H
ouse
Hig
her E
duca
tion
Caf
es &
ea
ter-
Nev
e Tz
edek
Ren
tal U
nits
Offi
ces
Hot
els
Sup
erm
arke
t
Farm
er’s
mar
ket
Bik
e R
oute
EAST
POW
ERG
reen
hous
e,
Nig
ht C
lub,
E
nerg
y P
lant
EAST
ARTS
Ope
ra H
all
The
Fina
l Tow
erAM
ALG
AMAT
ION
A G
row
th C
onst
riant
typo
logy
87
The verticle tower typology restrains growth from turning into conjestion
East Elevation
88
West Elevation
The garden trail ends at the spiral condominium 89
Eastern Districts
Central Districts
Western Districts
WESTINDUSTRIALSynagogue, Amphitheatre
WESTRECREATIONSports Hall, housing, market
PARKSOCIAL VOID
Allotment Gardens
Mansion HousePrivate OwnershipAmphitheatre Florentine
Live-work units Synagogue
Education facility
Activity center
Neve TzedekRental Units
Mansion HousePrivate
Ownership
Farmer’s market
Wellness Center
FlorentineLive-work
units
CENTRALCULTURALFarmer’s MarketWellness CenterActivity Center
CENTRALBUSINESSOfficesHotel
Neve TzedekRental Units
Offices
HotelsBike route
Supermarket
EASTPOWERGreenhouse, Night Club, Energy Plant
EASTARTSOpera Hall
The Final TowerAMALGAMATIONA Growth Constriant typology
Activity Trail
ClubEnergy Plant
Opera House
Higher Education
Cafes & Eateries
OfficesHotels
90
Cultural District: Farmer’s Market, Recreation Center, Private Housing
Art District: Operal House, Higher Education Center
Industrial District: Amphitheatre and Church
Power District: dynamic energy in a club is collected by a power plant
CENTRALBUSINESSOfficesHotel
EASTARTSOpera Hall
91
THE POLITICAL, FINANCAL GAMEThe non-partisan Olympic Games suddenly became
a venue for political and financial flex. We were all
witnesses as Beijing dazzled the world with non-sport
related performances and architectural extravaganza.
Some believed, if Herzog and DeMeuron’s Beijing
National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) was not unvealed
for the 2008 Olympic Games, it would have never
been built. How could it? In China, regulations were
loose. Little limits exist on construction pollutions and
worker’s rights; 17000 construction workers can work
in continuous shifts, day and night, under minimal pay.
Funding, permits, and resources are well provided as
China stages its emergence at all costs.
Finance and politics in Architecture is the highest
order of complexity. It can dictate designs and affect
the urban typologies. For instance, balconies may not
improve energy performances, aesthetics, or function,
but they account for marketable space and not Gross
Floor Area. Two large bedrooms may offer greater
comfort, but in real estate, a three-bedroom home
sells for more. If the Architect is oblivious to the blatant
game of finance and politics, their design decisions
may never be passed. In the wrong time, wrong place,
unsupported finance and policies, design agendas
might as well be just another utopian manifesto.
9:00 PM EDT, September 20, 2001, President George
W. Bush addressed to a Joint Session of Congress and
the American People, “Freedom and Free are at war”.
Who knew that two towers can become the symbol of
consumerism and national pride? Who knew that the
measures taken after the attacks can change safety
protocols in every industry around the world? Who
knew that the assults of buildings can lead to 10 years of
war and many more years of economic hardship? The
Architect should be one of many to know; if and only
if, his design was conceived for the fifth dimension.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/92
Freedom and Fear are at War, GW Bush, US Congress93
COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE 2THESIS: THORNCLIFFE PARK, TORONTO[Rhinoceros 4.0, AutoCAD 2010, InDesign CS4, Photoshop CS4]
Design is never original, but the process of composition is. This
is not a pessimistic thought but a realistic statement. COLLAGE
ARCHITECTURE brings out a different value system to engage
design, one that values the collective logistic over the individual
ego. It is not a manifesto or a methodology, it is a mental model.
But we must first liberate ourselves from all of those old ideas that
“weight like a nightmare on the brain of the living” (Marx wrote, from
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon) (Harley, On Architects,
Bees, and Possible Urban Worlds, 221).
In the context of Thorncliffe Park, an inner city suburb in Toronto,
COLLAGE hopes to investigate and experiment with the core
concerns behind the phenomena of Tower Renewal. Rather
than a singular Architectural solution, the goal is to produce an
Infrastructural time-plan that can resolve the needs of the community
sustainably. By sustainability, It is not refer to immoral commercial
model, it refers to the genuine spirit of sustainability. A building is
truly sustainable if it supply itself, manages its waste, and natural
expand to accomodate its needs. Like a living plant, it can grow and
it can die out, but it has the capacity to alway live forever.
With the means to grow and shrink rapidly, Architecture is finally
user driven. In many ways true, neccessity is the best driver for
change. If the inhabitants can makes a space popular, then the
request to expand should be feasible. This may be the highest form
of humanitarian architecture.
Through systems, catalogues, theoretical approaches, practical
approaches, graphs, and writing excerpts, all ideas will be displayed
though a sample idea on site. In the objective to accentuate the
architectural process, COLLAGE ARCHITECTURE hopes to create
a mental model that will question and find personalized practice
principles for all designers alike.94
In 5D: A Time-lapsed Rendering shows all changes due to Finance95
01b AFTER: Architecture and planning in transformation @ yr. 15
01a BEFORE: Architecture and planning in its root condition @ yr. 1
96
02a ECONOMIC PLAN: In the span of time for the Architecture
02b TIMEPLAN: Architecture Design in Time, Politics and Finance 97
02a ECONOMIC PLAN (continued)
02b TIMEPLAN (continued)98
99
02a ECONOMIC PLAN (continued)
02b TIMEPLAN (continued)100
101
Before: Anchor Franchise - IKEA
Before: A Parking Structure
Before: Groundcover on Roof, Parking, and Degrading Apartment Facades
Before: Southwest Elevation
102
After: Library (added walls, lights, and furniture)
After: Pedestrian Overpass, Library, and Facade Renewal System
After: Southwest Elevation
After: Community Facility - POOL103
One Instance in Time: Root Condition, Year 1
THE BEAUTIFUL PARKING GARAGEThe words humility and Architecture rarely appear in the same
sentence except if the word that preceeds it is ‘no’. This long accepted
attitude has become a professionalism that blurs our spectacles. As
we mature day by day, project by project, appreciation for the other
design works becomes harder and harder.
Like the parking structure, the poetic nature of
this uninteresting building can never be seen
as beautiful within the world of 3D thinking.
Its gray, conventional, and boring qualities
has already sentenced this type of building
into the ‘most un-wanted’ list. Perhaps being
ugly ranks higher than being a good piece of
Architecture..
104
One Instance in Time: Transformation, Year 20
Perhaps unintensional, but the infrastructure planned
by its initial designer has given the parking garage a
capacity to reborn and relive. As it ages, its structural
integrity does not weaken. Like an unfinished post-
and-beam building frame, walls can infill column
bays, systems can condition the interior,
and the seemingly souless architecture
can find new purposes. Design decisions
we make today can either become future
opportunities or just another waste.
In the world of 5D thinking, we do not
celebrate geometries. We see financial
timelines, trace the genesis of ideas,
and make educated predictions
105
THE ETERNAL IDEA It is not science. It is not art. It may be theory, but it is
not fact. It is not linear, and certainly not planar. Nor is
it geometrical, and definately not in time. It is immune
to finance because policies can’t define. Below the first
dimension, it is inmeasureable when it’s unconfined.
WIthout an edge, it must be discontinuous. No ways
to connect? It questions its own existence. Minus its
existence, it will be nothing. But in this nothingless, one
thing stands discrete; it is the idea that lives.
The Tribute of the Light rose through the settling ashes
at Ground Zero. The light is unlike other glow in the city
that never sleeps. The World Trade Center stands taller
than ever now, but it matters not. It stands with the most
open floor plans now, that matters not. It stands without
a horizontal break, it matters not. It stands without a
sway and without an agenda and purpose, it matters
not. Suddenly, our hearts are filled with emptiness just
as the tower we dream is realized.
We will never forget the events of September 11.
Respect and rememberance will stand eternally in the
world of the zeroth dimension.
Source: http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/106
Tribute of Light, Manhattan, March 11, 2002107
CONTACTS
Phone +1 (416) 277 1523
Location 92 Holly Drive,
Richmond Hill, ON,
Canada, L4S2R5
Email [email protected]
Portfolio www.tommytso.com
CU
RR
ICU
LUM
VIT
AE TECHNICAL SKILLS
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010
Autodesk AutoCAD 2010
Rhinoceros 4.0, with Grasshopper
Adobe CS4 Photoshop, Illustrator, & Indesign
Microsoft Office 2007, in the office setting
CREDENTIAL
Ryerson University, Toronto
Bachelor of Architectural Science, honours
LEED Acredited Professional
LANGUAGES
English (Native proficiency)
Cantonese (Professional working proficiency)
Mandarin (Professional working proficiency)
RELEVANT EXPERIENCES
Partner
TASK Creatives, Canada
Project Manager, Summer Trainee
Swire Properties, Hong Kong
Draftsman and Technical Assistant
Takric Engineering Ltd, Canada
[4 yrs]
[8 yrs]
[2 yrs]
[3 yrs]
[8 yrs]
[2011]
[2009]
[2009- ]
[2008]
[2008]
108
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Honours Distinction, Bachelor graduation, Ryerson
(3rd Place) Mount Pleasant Bike Rack Design Contest
Highest monetary winner, Queen Elizabeth Scholarship
Ryerson Dean’s List, for academic excellence
(1st Place) CitiesAlive International Design Competition
(1st Place) Air India Memorial Design Competition
(2nd Place) RU GREEN Open Space Design Competition
Bird Feeder design selected for Canada Blooms 2008
2nd highest GPA of the academic year in Architectural Sci.
Competitive entrance scholarship winner (out of 350 ppl.)
Ontario Scholars Distinction
Technology Design Academic Award
Gold Medalist team, Skills Canada Cardboard Boat Race
RCM Grade 8 Piano Examination, First Class Honours
(1st Place) Middlefield International Languages Bookmark
Visual Arts Academic Award
(1st Place) York Region’s ‘Together We’re Better’ Logo
OTHER EXPERIENCES
Christian Youth Fellowship Councillor
Design Seoul Internatioanl Competition
Church: Children Sunday School Teacher
AIAS Ryerson, Graphics Coordinator
Vacational Bible School Camp Leader
Travel: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Wuxi, Nanjing,
Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guangzhou
Studio Abroad: Rome, Florence, Siena,
San Gimignano, Pisa, Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem, Holon, Haifa, Cairo
(3rd) Mount Pleasant Bike Rack Competition
North ON. School of Arch. Ideas Competition
(1st) CitiesAlive Toronto Design Competition
(1st) Air India Memorial Design Competition
(2nd) RU GREEN Open Space Competition
[2011]
[2010]
[07-10]
[2009]
[2009]
[2009]
[2009]
[2008]
[2008]
[2007]
[2007]
[2007]
[2006]
[2005]
[2004]
[2003]
[2003]
[2011- ]
[2011]
[2010- ]
[2010-11]
[2007-11]
[2010]
[2010]
[2009]
[2009]
[2009]
[2009]
[2009]
109
At its highest aspiration, Architecture is integrally concieved for all
[Snow, 2 hours, +8 friends crazy enough to build in a snowstorm]110
Innuitian Igloo, 2007
DIMENSIONS. Like us, it lives from dust to dust, water to water.
111
Self Portrait in Red, 2006[Oil Pastel]112
RE
D, T
HE
ATY
PIC
AL
113
114
115
DIMENSIONSPortfolio
Architecture is a solution business. The day we forget this promise
is the day our profession renders obsolette. Traditionally, buildings
stand for centuries as fortresses and sanctuaries. Today, they have
become ephemeral and pretentious. Aging is continuously our threat
and revival is continuously on the brink. But at its roots, the concern
isn’t about substances or ideals, it is about awareness and intent.
The moral of the sustainable theory is the importance of passive
design. Building orientation, window placements, and footprint
shapes are all means to create comfortable living. What sets them
apart from air conditioning, light shelves, and fans is the motive for
long-term energy consumptions. Building renewal is like the active
measure of Architectural design. It defers its responsibilities from
design and inefficiently create wasteful buildings. The contrary
measure is the passive model; the intent is to conceive designs so
that they can resiliently survive in all dimensions.
Greater ideas will always emerge and prevail because they can
resiliently survive the five dimensions. As designers, in order to
consistently make valid contributions, our design canvas must
stretch beyond the three dimensions. It must consider the realms of
time and political finance. My works in this portfolio are organized
as examples of each realm. They show the ideals, qualities, and
deficiency at each level. Please do not treat this book as universal
truth, treat it as a documentation of an architectural enthusiast who
has found the Principles for Good Design.
CONTACTS
Phone +1 (416) 277 1523
Location 92 Holly Drive,
Richmond Hill, ON,
Canada, L4S2R5
Email [email protected]
Portfolio www.tommytso.com
Copyright © 2011 Tommy Tso
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