Hao Wu’s Portfolio

Abstract

COVID, a spatially transmitted disease, poses a significant threat to public health and gives rise to various social problems. Instead of implementing citywide lockdowns, an effective strategy for tackling the pandemic involves precise prevention and control measures, such as quarantining patients in dedicated facilities where they can receive treatment and proper living arrangements. This approach has proven its efficacy, suggesting that addressing the pandemic requires more than just vaccines; architecture plays a crucial role as well.

The project aims to transform the conventional, dark, and inaccessible plenum spaces within medical buildings into bright, transparent, and interactive environments using robotic technology.

Delivery robots navigate through the plenum, efficiently transporting food, equipment, and furniture to patients, eliminating the need for tired COVID patients to move to different rooms. Moreover, the plenum serves as a showcase that uplifts and engages COVID patients, fostering connections with like-minded individuals.

Hygine, Clean, Fresh air and sufficient supplies are a COVID patient considering firslty, when they quarantine with other strangers in a building
for 2 weeks. The facade toward the citizens of Shanghai reflect those concerns.

Plenum with Light, Air and Logisitics

Unlike conventional medical building, the dark, and inaccessible plenum spaces now transforms to a bright, transparent, and interactive environments using robotic technology. It deliver lights, fresh air and cargos to different zone and rooms. The metal silvery and golden surface attempt to provide hygienic feelings for patients.

Social Vitirne

Apparatures on the floor allow them to observe the variety of activities that different people are engaged in.

The movement of robots is showcased as a vitrine to patients. When patients see a robot delivering a football game table to a room, they know there’s a group of people playing it, and they can join them.

Moving People and Objects

This vitrine effect can bring people with similar interests and activity together and promote social interaction. Patients can order object or furniture on phone, place them from the AR application. Then robots will deliver it to the position.

Fluidity of furniture and objects allows room to change its function temporally. In the morning people pick up furniture and objects in the
Garage, whereas at night the Garage becomes a Cinema

Fresh Air guided by Laminar Flow Surface Language

The roof plenum takes wind from north side of the Yangzte River, creates a negetive pressure which sucks dirty air from vertical robotic plenum and push it to south side. On the right page the CFD diagram shows both interior circulation of air flow and north facade. The surface language is generated from a custom algorithm to find correct shapes that can achieve air performance. The left diagram shows the process.

Methedology

The project uses agent-based simulation to study the movement patterns of people in a previous sanatorium facility and designs a new typology based on the findings.

Conventional sanatoriums, such as Hoffmann’s Purkersdorf and Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium, have architectural programs based on area and adjacency, using circulation to connect different functional rooms. However, the COVID quarantine facility in 2020 presents an alternative approach. An agent-based simulation reveals three unique points:

Patients are clustered into phases. The 14-day quarantine journey is divided into sections based on the frequency of care required from doctors. Patients travel from Phase 1 to Phase 3 and then leave the building.
Instead of patients walking to different function rooms, robots deliver food and amenities to people.
The COVID facility, on the other hand, serves as a social condenser, bringing different people together. Patients find friends, and merchants discover new opportunities.

Thus, the new COVID facility should learn from these three aspects and enhance them architecturally.

General Organization & Site Plan

The building is located in Shanghai, China, near the Yangtze River bank, as part of an extension of the Shanghai Yixian Sanatorium.

In Phase 1, during the first three days, people simply move to their individual rooms, as seen with the red agents. They have just contracted COVID, are experiencing fever, and prefer not to move. Subsequently, robots deliver food and equipment to them.

In Phase 2, people can begin walking and engaging in activities. They pick up items associated with their activities and ask robots to deliver them to specific positions. The static movement patterns of people define spaces like cafes and restaurants, slow movements define fluid cozy spaces such as the library and gallery, and fast movement defines circulation and gym spaces. Areas where agents don’t go define voids on the floor and apparatuses, allowing them to observe robot travel and other people’s activities.

In Phase 3, people start moving in social clusters based on the new friends they made in Phase 2. Small social clusters define individual rooms such as co-working offices and chess rooms. Medium social clusters define workshops, outdoor areas, and meeting rooms. Large social clusters define cinema and gym spaces.