Vivien Dong

Living in the Manifold

FINALIST

ISO[NATION]: HOME OFFICE competition held by MOOOARCH

2020 May

Partner: Yue He

In our design, we rethink the relationship between physical presence and virtual world under the pandemic from an architectural perspective. While our home is constrained to an isolated three-dimensional physical space, the virtual reality connects us in physically impossible ways. Mathematically speaking, cameras and screens, as the extension of physical space, connect us through a 3-manifold in a high-dimensional virtual space. Under this new topology, we redefine programs of single- person live-work units following two principles:

1. The manifold changes the functional requirement of some programs: work, socializing, and entertainment are happening online, so the living room, office, and gym are redesigned as interfaces to the virtual world.

2. Food storage, home growing, trash disposal and contact-free delivery become new rituals that require physical interactions. Physical spaces for these programs are reconfigured and placed in more prominent positions.

We hope “Living in the Manifold” will spark discussions about the symbiosis of virtual and physical worlds in architecture design and promote a self-sustained lifestyle under physical isolation.

The Wheel

2020 Oct

Partner: Yue He, Nuo Xu

THE WHEEL:

Looking out from my window, I reflect on my life in the Wheel. Centuries ago, as the population grew and the environment degraded, architects moved cities inside buildings to create climate-controlled homes within limited space. They soon realized that vertical skyscrapers have an implicit hierarchy, so they built the Wheel, where everyone has equal opportunity to explore every job and enjoy every angle of the city.

LIFE:

The Wheel is a circular building with living units revolving on the outer ring. Every cycle takes 120 years, which is our life expectancy. As our home rotates, we study/work in different sectors, each with a unique industry. In my 20s, I started my career as a farmer in the agriculture sector. My home then dived into the underwater energy sector in my 40s, so I became a hydropower operator. Later, I became a researcher in my 70s when my home moved to the research center. Now I am enjoying my life in the entertainment sector.

COMMUNITY:

Other residents have similarly multi-faceted lives. Our equal yet diverse tasks make the city self-sustainable. The revolving outer ring also generates hydropower for the city.

HOME:

Our homes are connected to transportation structures with travel cabins. The view from my home is constantly changing, from underwater to the sky.