After hearing Prof Condon talking about how wonderful the streetcar would be for the city, I first time had a close look at the profound influence the long-gone streetcar had imposed on our current social and structural formation. In this project, I was provided with a old photo at the intersection of 41st and Oak, looking south ,from 1956, trying to compare it with that of today. I identified the remaining streetcar rail in the middle of the driveway, and distinguished streetcar’s function of brought housing and first-story local shops aside its railway. I uncovered the magnificent power of streetcar to extend pedestrians’ walking distance, while not impeding the prosperity of stores in the middle of their starting points and destinations due to the streetcars’ limited speed. This assignment facilitated my first-time attempt to take a closer look at the city and ask why.
All posts by qingyang liu
Here comes my final design! The design location is aside a valley, on a few spacious planters, on campus. My aim is to provide both social and living space for a visiting scholar during the summer. Illuminated by my previous models of intersecting lines, which forms fascinating triangular patterns and shades during daylight, I used such radial-pattern pillars, floors, and ceilings to create variegated functional-uses of space, privacy protection, and interaction between indoor life and outside environment.
Here is my project after the completion of the former intersection model. I put the former model into a cube, an filled it with plaster! Although it was hard to get the plaster model intact while removing the cardboard inside, it turns out to be a magnificent model with radial and triangular pattern, which aroused inspirations for my next project.
This is my second project, inspired by my first installation, which gives rise to its radial pattern and intersection with the stairs bellow. I used hot glue gun as well as card board for the first time.
This is the first installation project I’ve done and also first project at CCA with my group mate Mike. We were provided with a tool box of materials, including string, glue, tracing paper, and rulers. We finally used strings to create a semi-private space on campus, expecting the shade (California has great sunlight!) and the radial pattern of string would bring some repercussion to people walk by.
I come from this place– a literature review of Three Gorges Dam
literature-review GEOB 206
This is my first time writing a literature review. My topic is the morphological influences of Three Gorges Dam (TGD). TGD is a well-known and controversial project, located in my hometown city. In this case, being able to research on a topic that I’m originally familiar with is genuinely excited: I have experienced its influence in respect of local weather and social changes. Summarizing and uncovering previous scholars’ studies about the morphologic influence of Three Gorges Dam to the downstream landscapes is challenging and intriguing. I’m so glad I ultimately achieved a comprehensive interpretation of TGD’s effects on downstream channels, linked lakes, and the delta.
Walking Through a Straight Cut
This is the first assignment for my VISA 110. I made multiple practices to walk from the bus loop and Koerner Library, which are my daily routines, and recorded my walk on the Strava app on my phone. I always tried to save time on the way. Straight line might be the best choice to practice. But UBC has too much construction sites to impede my action. Although I basically followed the same path, which most students used to walking on as short cuts on the lawn, the saturated soil and pond in the middle after precipitation diverted my route, This artwork forced me to learn to use photoshop for the first time and it succeeded. I am a beginner of using ps now 😉
Olympic Village’s revival: a reflection after the field trip
It is actually my first time to visit Olympic Village. I read about its superb design principles and livabilities in previous readings. But walking around the place is so different from just imaging the scene based on sentences of the book. I see designers trying to integrate the view with the architectural structure; I see the history of past industrial machines and the aboriginal spirit rise from parks and marshes; I see the thriving community in the process of creating its own sense of place as time goes by.
Vancouverism in Downtown South
This is my first assignment for ENDS 220.
We are always told to be critical about the world. It is true that we might only able to make progresses through critical lenses. Doing the field trip around the Concord Pacific in Downtown South and recognizing everything talked in the readings about how Vancouver failed to undertake its reputation of sustainability and livability is so impressive for me. I realized that cities are not only built for elites who enjoy champagne on dominated high-end condos, but all classes and races striving to live here.
Arbutus Village — an enclave in the region
Here is my second assignment for ENDS 220. This is the first time I tried to sketch to articulate my ideas for a better expression. I did a research on the Arbutus Village community to figure out the reason for their unusual warped neighbourhood layout. Doing this research is challenging since buildings and trees are not going to speak to me about its history and the community’s planning process. My research recovered this neighbourhood’s high number of rich and retired population, which contribute to its suburban lifestyle. This lifestyle further produce its inner greenways and the park while blocks automobiles outside the community. I also noted this neighbourhood’s inactive process of redevelopment. Although the community development proposal was passed in 2005, this neighbourhood looks exactly the same since 11 years have passed. This project made me aquatinted with the Arbutus neighbourhood in person, not from textbooks and essays. This is really pleasurable for me, who barely no anything about Vancouver’s neighbourhoods.