Ar dong ping wong

Dong is the Founding Director of Food New York, co-founder of Friends of + POOL, and a licensed
architect in New York state. Dong’s work has been featured in publications including the Wall Street
Journal, New York Times, PIN-UP, Fast Company, the Economist and Wired and has been awarded
the Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence, the New York Design Award for Best Young Practice
and was nominated for the INDEX Awards in Copenhagen. Prior to Food, Dong was a founding
partner of Family New York with Oana Stănescu and was trained at OMA and REX in New York,
specializing in public, cultural, and hi-density mixed-use buildings. Dong has taught at Columbia
University and is a frequent public speaker including talks at RISD, UCLA, the New Museum,
Municipal Art Society, Oslo Design Council, AIGA, tedx and the World Summit on Innovation. Dong
graduated with a Masters in Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and
Preservation at Columbia University and a Bachelors of Arts in Architecture from the College of
Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. Dong is from San Diego, CA.
Dong-Ping Wong has created exceptional interior spaces, residential and commercial buildings,
and public spaces for some of the biggest names and brands in the world. His firm frequently
works with fashion designer Virgil Abloh, having designed several of the flagship stores for
Abloh's fashion brand Off-White. Food New York is also currently building a bathhouse in the
Cayman Islands, constructed entirely by hedges and a floating swimming pool that will clean the
water of New York's East River.
Ar. Dong Ping Wong initiates his TED talk by stating that this is the most exciting time in the
last 50 years to be an architect (2013). He then explains the same
Back in 2007, right before the “recession” of the economy architecture was at its peak
because the market was at a high which gave rise to bigger, taller structures that were
audacious and iconic. He believes that this was initiated 10 years ago by the Guggenheim
museum in Bilbao which established a standard or a trend for architecture. This kind of
architecture had two kinds of flaws that was exposed during the “recession”.
1. That this kind of design was an obsession with objects and not buildings. Objects that
were made to be bigger, taller, luxurious and obvious than similar type of buildings.
2. This kind of design was dependent and built for the market. Hence when the market
fell apart the point of this architecture fell apart.
By this, architecture kind of lost the whole point of what it should be doing

However, one of the plus points of this “recession” was that it gave an opportunity to
rebuild the real purpose of architecture. Rebuild what architecture can do for a city,
people and you.

Rebuilding architecture that could help humans and the environment make spaces
more productive was the way to go about this. Productive architecture meant making
good things or things that are beneficial and essential like clean water, air or food.

Dong ping Wong then elaborates on the projects that his firm worked on.
1. One of the very first projects was where they simply studied a housing tower. They
created a step tower and arranged five of them into a self-supporting solar array that
acted as an urban battery for a power-hungry city to light up street lights and other
public amenities. It was the first time they ever thought about making stuff that could be
beneficial for all the people that lived in the city.
2. Another project they worked on was a master plan in Copenhagen. This is a peninsula
off the north eastern side of Copenhagen and the aim was to produce food by taking
the productive qualities of a farmland or of an agrarian area and combine it with all the
efficiencies of a sea and urban density into was called an urban quilt of productivity.
This was achieved by starting a kind of typical Copenhagen courtyard block, blown up
 tenfold so that the middle could actually support these programs. There's a farmland in
the middle with a market to sell the produce. On the Left there's a fruit origin, to the
south there is a water quality treatment plant. The architecture protected all of these
central productive areas from wind and noise. This actually allowed these areas to
produce as much as they can.
3. Another project was a 600-unit housing block just south of downtown Dallas. It was
entirely based on one of the key elements of Dallas - lot of wind. Their team of
engineers pointed out a phenomenon whereas wind passes over and around the
corners of a building that wind speed accelerates. So, they took the typical fad housing
block and just cut it in half to take a point of production and expand that into a surface
of energy production peaks that could produce 100 percent of the energy needed by
these 600-unit housing block. Infact, it was capable of producing more than it needed
which meant that they could sell the energy back to the city grid to help finance the
construction and operation of the project. This idea was taken quite seriously because
not only was there an environmental impact but there was an economic impact.

+ POOL
Plus pool is the most popular project initiative by Dong ping Wong’s firm and the office of play lab.
This project started in 2011. It is a representative of this whole notion of a productive architecture.

In olden times, people enjoyed swimming in the rivers. Now due to the poor water quality of the river
people do not swim in natural water bodies anymore. Dong ping Wong and his team wanted to
wanted to bring that back but of course certain parameters had to be kept in mind. Clean water,
secure and safe swimmable spaces and a design that is beneficial to the environment.
He states that his vision and understanding of water is very very different. This idea of a pool in a river
also goes in hand with the climate of San Diego. Which gets incredibly grossly hot in summers. So
this idea would help people cool off in a river that you cross over and look at and live next to every
day.
The problems
1. The river is not particularly clean. The city map indicates that this particular river isn’t clean
enough for swimming.
2. The idea was to carve out a very small piece of the river that is real river water to swim in.
The river is also an amazing resource that the city has. The pool had to be made cleaner
where people could swim in it, where families could feel comfortable bringing their kids to it.
3. A team of engineers at Arup helped develop a layered filtration system that filters water
moving through the pool. As it is being brought into the walls of the pool smaller and smaller
contaminants are being taken out. By the time it gets to the pool it has is water that meets and
possibly even exceeds the stated standards for swimming.
4. The pool also acts as a giant strainer made up of Brita filters that you can simply drop into the
river.
5. They ran a Kickstarter campaign and raised 41 thousand dollars to do the first series of tests
of real river water of real filtration materials. The river water was being sucked up and put into
a tank with filters. They also worked with Columbia University and Bluemont Doherty Earth
Observatory who taught them how to test river water quality. They tested 19 different
parameters in a mini science lab set up in a trailer out on the park for six weeks.
6. The results of this test were quite good as they were able to take out so many contaminants.
7. Swimming in the river was such a simple yet a powerful idea for a design of the pool that is
beneficial to the people and environment.
8. The plus design accommodates every category of swimmer in the pool. It can be opened up
for lap swimming, it can be opened up completely for a glorious free-for-all swimming and can
also break it up so that kids can use it.
9. The pool has the capacity to literally make five hundred thousand gallons of clean water every
day just simply by swimming in it, by using it. Even though it is a small amount given the size
of the river, it's incredible that it's actually a measurable amount.

He concludes by stating that this kind of architecture that gives back to the city is what's
exciting. What's been really nice according to Dong Ping Wong is that they have found that
this has an amazing resonance to all sorts of different interests like athletics and business not
 only in the city but worldwide. Getting back to the that idea that we're in this exciting period of
architecture and design where it can be focused on environmental issues, better city planning,
cleaner water and air, etc.

Thomas Bryans
Thomas Bryans is a designer and co-founder of IF_DO, a London-based
architecture practice dedicated to creating projects with a positive impact on users,
the environment and the surrounding community. The firm constantly seeks to
make their projects do more—working to create buildings that are not just
beautiful, but that deliver wider social, economic, and ecological benefits
throughout their lifespan. Thomas studied at both the University of Edinburgh and
Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he gained his Master of
Architecture. He has written extensively on issues of architecture and
sustainability, and is passionately committed to improving the diversity of the
architecture profession.

Ar. Thomas Bryans addresses the fact that architecture whether small or big in
size influence its site, surrounding, economy, environment and communities.
These results are due to ripple effects that go on for a very long period of time.
According to him, these effects are often not considered which led to unfortunate
results.
The industrial revolution for example, brought about numerous materials and
inventions that largely came through in buildings. Walls got thinner due to the use
of glass, building got taller and new styles of architecture came into existence.
However, this resulted in many long terms dis-advantages. The focus shifted to
how big or how luxurious architecture can be and not about how it relates to its
context.
Many skyscrapers caused fires, and the contribution of the built environment to the
production of CO2 became one third of the total production.

Due to such side effects, Ar. Thomas Bryans suggests that if building were
designed keeping in mind the ripple effect rather than ignoring or accepting its
unintended consequences. He states a few examples of such good designs.

1. In rural Europe and the United States barn raisings created social interdependence. Barns
required a lot of hands to be built. If a barn was being built for one individual or one member
of the community it would be built by everyone else as a network of social support knowing
that the favour would be repaid. This was not by design this was out of necessity but it
demonstrates the power that buildings can have to support the society around them.
Today there's significant evidence in the financial and psychological benefits of urban greenery.
Green roofs increased biodiversity and reduce rainwater runoff, mitigating the effect of storms and
reducing the risk of urban flooding. Views of trees and plants have been shown to make the sick
recover more quickly and to improve mental health. In London research has demonstrated that in
areas with higher dead cities of urban trees there are lower rates of antidepressant prescriptions.
Buildings that support the local economy both in how they are built and in how they work buildings,
that filter the air, that
Increase biodiversity that improve health and well-being and that support the environment can be
designed.
These suggest that if we can design our buildings to include plants and trees and greenery, we're not
only benefiting individuals but we're supporting the community at large.

Hence when these ideas become intrinsic to the design extraordinary buildings can be designed
that strengthen the local community and connect people to one another.
Cities of urban trees there are lower rates of antidepressant prescriptions so if we can design our
buildings to include plants and trees and greenery, we're not only benefiting individuals but we're
supporting the community at large.

Thomas Bryans then shares an example of his own work. Two of his friends and him set up a new
architecture practice to investigate some of these ideas.
1. The first one being a small library in Waterloo in central London. The local council and a
Community Interest company called meanwhile space approached them to help transform a
temporary building that was put up 20 years ago. It had been relocated and the building in
the site was going to be redeveloped in a few years’ time. They were asked to design
something that could use this empty building at a low cost instead of just letting it sit there
before it was demolished. They had to design something that would benefit the local
community and bring some joy to the streetscape. They came up with a relatively light touch
solution recognizing the temporary nature of the project. By using just a lick of paint and a
lightweight timber screen just enough to transform a relatively ugly building into a vibrant
visual asset. More importance was giving to the purpose of the interior of the building. They
wanted it to be used for bringing the community together. For this reason, they worked with a
diverse range of stakeholders to create a co-working space that provided a low-cost
accommodation to start-ups as well as housing an organization that supports people in
finding jobs, training or apprenticeships. The building today is nurturing companies that
wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to be in such a central location allowing them to
grow and establish themselves. So, this project encapsulates' the benefits of such projects it
takes a building that would have been sitting empty and transforms it into a social and
economic asset for that community. Hence the ripple effect of architecture doesn't just start
from when the building is built it starts right at the beginning of a project.
2. In July, Thomas Bryans was asked to designed a new set form centre at Sint Teresa School,
Effingham Surrey. The project was going to take about two years to design and build and at that
time the school was going to be investing a huge amount of effort and money. They started off
the design process by asking “what more can this investment do? And How can we use the
school's investment in design to help the students?”So they ended up using the whole process
of designing and building the building as an educational tool for the pupils, teaching them about
architecture and sustainability and about how buildings are made and the impacts they have.
More importantly they opened their eyes to a range of jobs and professions that they may not
have considered or even known about.With respect to the design that the architects came up
with, the building was set to be built to benefit the school in many other ways. It was to be carbon
neutral with enough solar panels on Roof to power not just itself also to power back to the rest of
the school network and a series of green roofs new trees and built-in burden bat boxes that
would enhance the biodiversity of the immediate site. So while the project will deliver much-
needed social and educational spaces to the school it also gives so much more to the centre
resource community and it's been intentionally designed to link that community and Link the
students to the wider landscape and woodland around it.
3. The last example that the speaker gave was based in County Cork in Ireland. He and his team
have been working with a client to create a holistically sustainable project over the next 10 years.
Joseph Walsh (the client) is an internationally renowned furniture designer and maker but his
studio and workshop is deeply rooted in its context and is based in the old family farm around this
old cottage that was once the family home. It's a place that has generated enormous social value
bringing highly skilled people from all around the world creating a diverse cultural and creative
environment in this small town in rural Ireland. It's a place that has great economic value to its
community with high skilled high paying rural jobs and the export of high-value products. Having
a positive environmental impact is inherent in what they do they invest hugely in tree planting and
biodiversity programs to increase to improve the landscape and the ecosystem around them. But
when they started working with them they were facing some pretty serious challenges. The scale
of their work had grown and while they wanted to stay where they were the physical limitations of
their buildings was preventing that. Pieces were literally too big for their buildings. So the
challenge that they had was how to enable the campus to grow and develop but at the same time
also further their social and environmental ambitions. With the enlargement of the buildings and
the streamlining of the production process there's a environmental strategy that underpins the
whole design. Large photovoltaic arrays that would provide operational energy to the site.
Boreholes and reedbeds would create a closed-loop water cycle that filters the wastewater on-
site. Waste wood and coppiced fast-growing woodland will provide zero mile renewable biomass
 for all of their heating all combined with in a holistic site strategy. The architecture itself has been
designed to create a sense of place natural lime render and corrugated roofing from the local
vernacular with paving that were extracting from the farms own quarry less than half a mile away.
It's the quarry that produced the stone to build the original farmhouse. The workshops had been
designed according to the needs of their program and so that everyone has a view out to the
surrounding environment so that everybody who works there will have a visual link to trees or
plants in the surrounding landscape.
4. The speaker concludes by stating that - so in thinking deeply about the wider impacts that
architecture has both locally and globally it results in an architecture that is deeply contextual. An
architecture that responds both to its social and environmental context as much as its historical
and physical one. When we design to maximize the positive social economic and environmental
ripples of architecture,
When we design with the big picture in mind we can create buildings that benefit everyone our
buildings can do so much let's make them more.
Sameep Padora runs an architecture and research practice based out of Mumbai. He was voted
by the World Architecture News as one of one of the top 21 young architects globally. He has
been a recipient of the Architectural Review's commendation for the Emerging Architecture
Award as well as has received MARMOMACC Architecture in Stone prize in Verona, Italy. His
innovative Maya Somaiya library was shortlisted as one of the 6 best Libraries globally by the AR
London.

Sameep Padora talks about lessons we can learn from Bombay's historic buildings and how
these lessons can help re-imagine the future of Mumbai's architecture with the aim of creating a
healthier living environment for its residents.

He gives examples of previously designed buildings in Mumbai and how they fostered community
living and gave importance to the well-being of its residents. More than a century ago Bombay was a
bustling trade port for thousands of people who migrated to the city in search of work. There were no
are planning or building laws at the time so they ended up living in really cramped houses without
sufficient access to light ventilation or sanitation. In 1896, when the plague hit the city it quickly turned
into an epidemic. 2,000 people died every week for a year. To combat this the government set up the
Bombay City Improvement Trust to the BIT. Its sole Mandate being to rescue the city from its derelict
urban condition. The BIT created new precincts, built new neighbourhoods all within the frameworks
of new building laws to create a healthier City. The speaker points out that the first building and
planning laws of the city were constituted keeping in mind the health of the residents of the city.

Ar. Sameep Padora and his team in 2015 started to look for some of these projects that people built
since the early 1900s. They were interested not in how these projects looked but really how they
worked. These projects ranged from many scales, from the scale of the city down to the scale of
furniture.

1. The first project is the scale of the city. It fairly innocuous looking building that is roughly 3/4
the size of a Manhattan city. It has programs like in other projects of the city with commercial
at the bottom and residential on the top but with a major difference. In the case of Swadeshi,
the Market Streets don't run parallel to the road, they actually run through the building's
perpendicular to the road. This means is that the city doesn't stop at the edge of that building
it actually extends through almost connecting one part of the city to the other. Above these
double-height well ventilated Market streets lies the residential component which has
residential units with shared courtyards. These courtyards are used by children to play for
people to interact and for to celebrate festivals. This building was an incredible example of
community living due to its design – niches, courtyards and ventilated corridors allowing
people to communicate easily.
2. The second example that the speaker shows is at the scale of a furniture consists of just 2
hinges joining pieces of wood to create a ladder that flat backs against the wall. It is used
when people need to access the room behind and opens up to allow for people to access the
mezzanine with it.
3. Another example of a simple rule made and followed by people in olden times was the 63.5-
degree angle. When in, if a line was to be drawn from the top of a building to the bottom of the
opposite building the angle of that line should not be less than 63.5 degrees. This allowed
residents to have a perfect set back, well ventilated and lit spaces.

According to the speaker, the government building schemes for the poor aren’t doing any good to the
environment and the well being of Mumbai’s residents. The slum rehabilitation projects by authorities
are so tightly packed on sites that they end up looking like warehouses for people. One in ten living in
these kinds of housing suffers from TB and other respiratory diseases. The architecture of the building
is becoming responsible for the rampant drives and diseases.

The speaker shows a few apartments that cost around 45 to 70 lakh rupees is lacking lighting and
ventilation. They are being constructed so tightly due to lack of space and increasing demands. This
is leading to poor health conditions of people living there

The inference from these examples are that the aim of code books and norms has shifted from the
giving importance to health and welfare of the citizens to maximizing profits.
The architect’s firm came up with a design influenced by all the research done till now on housing in
Mumbai. The design has two sets of windows one on the outside that would allow for air to come into
the housing units and one on the inside that would allow for the hot air to escape from a funnel-like
Lobby created by staggering corridors. These internal windows also allow people to communicate
across, above and below the units that they are on, hence creating the potential for fostering a sense
of community. To integrate spaces together, Clubhouse programs that are usually cut away and put
away on to one one part of the site was brought in as a part of the corridor movement system.
Terrace farms were also designed to consisted of children play areas and gathering spaces.
This resulted in all social spaces being within the daily circulation routes of people's movement in the
building. This project not just considers the physical health of the residents but also takes into
consideration their mental and social well-being.

The speaker concludes by stating that while it seems like Mumbai's building codes are slowly making
people sick, that need not be the case. Architects need to refocus the building laws from being about
quantity or real estate to being about the quality of life. The way in towards the future might be to look
back into the past and learn from the embedded architecture of the city of Mumbai.