Vincent Pu Zhang (He/Him)
Winner
AJ Student Prize 2021 Shortlist, Nomination: RIBA Bronze Medal Award
Vincent is currently working at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners after achieving his BArch (RIBA Part 1) with a first from the Glasgow School of Art. He was nominated in 2021 for both the RIBA President’s Medal for the Bronze Medal and AJ Student Prize by Mackintosh School of Architecture. Vincent’s artworks like his oil paintings have also won prestigious prizes such as RIBAJ Eye Line.
Perfectionist and positive in the soul, Vincent has a deep understanding of working in a team and contributing to the collective good with energy and commitment. Curious, daring, and humble, he is always ready to learn, change, and adapt, as well as solving hard problems effectively.
Besides architecture, Vincent likes to draw, paint, explore industrial design, and think about innovative tech ideas. He started practising traditional art at a very early age with great passion in science and technology, always desiring to be a polymath. After majoring in fine art for years, Vincent identified architecture in harmony with his interdisciplinary interests and aspiration to serve humanity.
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Big Noise Balloch
With a critical and speculative design approach, the proposal projects a future scenario for the children of Sistema Scotland while also replaying the history by a meaningful geographical line. The envisioned system allows ever greater affordability, connectedness, and playfulness for the users. The design proposal aims to identify and respond to four main areas for the theme of Culture: 1) Tackling a spiritual crisis for faith and spiritual fulfilment. 2) Developing individuality and personal identity. 3) ‘Retreat but advance’, putting art at the service of society. 4) Encouraging equality and inclusivity, adaptable to any background, class and culture.
The ‘plug-in’ system replays and redefines what has been understood as capsule/pod buildings that have in history always effected sheer visual expressions without the ideal practicality. The project also experiments and investigates the use of carbon fibre for building structure in the envisioned scenario. Learning the consequences, it explores speculatively both the possibilities and impracticalities of this material, developing a thesis, or an antithesis.
Project Links
Bo’ness Library & Gallery
The Bo’ness Library & Gallery is designed to be a distinct, attractive and new superstructure in the town with the capacity to bring stimulating functions and conviviality, by adapting and reusing the existing historic library. Evolving from an insignificant idea of nature displacing and reoccupying manmade structures, the project has since proposed creating a pristine and transformative landmark which has the potential to revive and restore the vibrancy and liveliness of Bo’ness in a sustainable way.
After overcoming the setback where the notion of a glass dome was checking the advance, the project has seen major struggles and breakthroughs. Concepts such as the Progressive interaction rooms to stimulate multigenerational and multidisciplinary exchange of knowledge and skills, a reading tower with balconies and central lightwell, and a bright transparent convivial room have all been concretised.
Project Links
Hogganfield Loch Bathhouse
The proposal is aimed for creating unprecedented bathhouse experience of openness, closeness to plants, and engagement with nature without going outside, solving the general lack of transparency existing in most bathhouses. It creates a transitional experience from the confined intimacy underground to the open and spacious intimacy above ground, then to the outdoor intimacy on the rooftop.
The design of the continuous circular baths and sauna room features in this bathhouse, allowing bathers to have 360-degree panoramas of the site, interacting with the natural elements.
