It is my intention that the building be both sympathetic to its urban and historic context and clear in the development of a new identity for an embassy complex. The building makes careful connections to the proportions and geometries of classical Italian architecture, while establishing landmark elements which are harmonious parts of a new urban focus. Such connections are not abstract, but help to engage the building in a lively conversation with its historic context. / Master of Architecture

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes special report study entitled: Planning for security in consulate building. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes special report study entitled : Planning for security in consulate building. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special report study entitled: Intelligent building envelope. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special report study entitled : Intelligent building envelope. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

My thesis project explores the ability of architecture to represent a culture in a meaningful way. The embassy is technically in Brazil but surrounded by the District of Columbia, USA. This poses questions about culture, ecology, and geography. The challenge is how to design a cultural-specific building without it becoming a World's Fair pavilion or a cultural cliché. World's Fair pavilions often represent just a moment within a nation's ongoing architectural discourse, as is fitting for their temporary status. Some embassies are cultural clichés, which look like how uneducated residents of the host county perceive a foreign land and are invitations to form cultural stereotypes. My approach to answering this thesis question is in the process of translating Brazilian culture through the lens of my own culture using the medium of design and construction. This process can be described as translational architecture. The act of translation does not consist merely of mimicry but a transformation into something similar yet substantively different. This act of translation disrupts the implicit superiority of the original because the translation can have its own life, character, and depth. / Master of Architecture

There never comes a point at which we can declare any building "finished", and never touch it again; if we were to do this it would signal a sad sort of death and the end of the building's use, because it is by a continual process of revision that they fulfill our ever-changing needs and tastes. However, acknowledging this dynamic aspect of the nature of buildings brings the role of the architect into question; how can we design a building, make drawings and reach practical completion on a building site whilst being aware of the looming future, with its eternal punch list of alterations? Or, how can an awareness of passing time as a gradual tweaker, weatherer, and alterer of buildings be seen not as a problem or annoyance for the architect, but as a generous and reliable source of inspiration, a giver of richness, even a generator of good design? The project aims to answer this question by suggesting a way of building slowly, over decades, always looking forward and back. / Master of Architecture

Our culture is our identity. It is the complex summation of our history and future. It is who we are and who we will be as individuals and as nations. As our world becomes more and more globalized our cultures are merging. Many seek to preserve their identity. The embassy becomes the architectural frontier for this immersion and interactions with other cultures. It is tasked with being the face, or rather facade of the country. It is tasked with being a secure yet welcoming place for its own nationals and guests. In being the cultural face of a nation, an embassy takes on a public, educational role within the community. This thesis explores how culture, traditional and current, can be showcased in the design of a functional, educational space of a Korean embassy in Washington, D.C. What is transported and what is translated? How does this effect our experience and understanding of it? / Master of Architecture / This thesis explores the process of imbuing Korea culture into nontraditional architecture. Throughout the study the shape of the building developed with the purpose of showcasing various aspects of Korean culture for guests of the embassy. The embassy is designed to function, containing open and private offices, an assembly space, a cafe, and a museum. The embassy is made up of three consecutive buildings and reaches five stories and a basement. The site has an extremely steep hill which was a difficult obstacle to overcome. Scenic views are set up throughout the embassy with the intention of connecting the viewer to the outside and to the courtyard. The goal of the building was to provide an educational cultural experience to the guests.

Diametrically opposed forces, while independent, require the presence of the other to exist. Shadow is found through an absence of light. Earth exists as a result of the heavens, whether cosmologically or theologically. The following project explores dichotomies and the architectural elements that can span two disparate entities. The proposal for an embassy for Somalia strives to discover the threshold between the dualities of the Islamic faith and the profane environment. In the faith one must follow a path, whether physical or spiritual in order to find true enlightenment. By allowing the path of the thesis be the guide, the various elements of approach, entry, courtyard, garden and sacred spaces are illuminated as the thresholds between these diametrically opposed forces of public | private, heaven | earth, sacred | profane. / Master of Architecture

As the world becomes both more urbanized and both natural and man-made threats increase there is a growing concern for the resiliency of cities. How can a city adapt to absorb and recover from shocks? Public places today are threatened by the existence of terror attacks that result in unprecedented levels of destruction. The recent terror attacks in Paris, Berlin, and London have illustrated the disastrous effects of failing to adequately safeguard our public spaces. The concept for an embassy that is designed not for one nation but for any number of potentially new ones created the opportunity to look at how the building type and technologies could play a larger role in the development of an architecture of defensive resiliency in an urban context. The design of this embassy undertook the challenges associated with the creation of a safe public space integrating with a highly secure facility. By challenging material assumptions and looking toward the present future of material science in the built environment this project sought to establish a new way of implementing a protected structure. This project exposes how current material developments can change how we perceive security in architecture. Defensive structures do not need to present themselves as fortresses within the city, but can be inviting and open. / Master of Architecture