Hi, I’m Jen Chenyu Zhang, an interdisciplinary designer/architect/storyteller. 
I design interactive experiences, using multi-medium platforms,  from a user-centered and empathetic perspective. 



Architectural
architectural, user-driven
architectural, humanitarian
architectural, tectonic
architectural, research
architectural, design
architectural, photomodel
research, analysis
urban design
fabrication

Multi-Media
video storytelling
interactive wearable design35mm
An Architect’s Handbook
The Invisible Cities
Boats In A Floating World
film photography
editorial
editorial
graphic



All visualsare original

unless otherwise indicated
Farigola as My Home
urban recovery through the lens of domesticity in Barcelona
ETH Zürich
Teamwork + Individual Project
Exchange Semester 2020
Studio Website here



Background and Design Goal: 
This studio focused on a very fragmented area of the city of Barcelona, an area of discontinuity between urban fabrics: the Vallcarca district, in the surroundings of the valley formed by the hills of El Putxet, Creueta del Coll, and Muntanya Pelada at the back of Park Güell. An area mainly defined by the strength of the topography, which marks the positioning of the buildings following the rules of slopes and level jumps.

The constant descent of the streets into the valley and to the sea provokes the constructions to make an effort in their positioning on the territory, grouping built areas into urban fragments with constant changes of orientation and direction. These turns leave empty spaces that allow the sight to cross long distances. Often these long views end in natural mountain and forest fragments, traces of the original geography of the site, with its ‘outskirts’ character that existed up until slightly more than a century ago.


Part ONE Urban Mapping: 
Individual Work 
The drawing process of selecting, layering, poché-ing, and erasing is to understand the historical developments of a foreign land and to build up experiences through a personal narrative. The exercise led by Spanish architects Flores & Prats focuses on the disarticulated and abandoned context in the suburban neighborhood of Vallcarca, Barcelona. By mapping and envisioning through drafting, the drawings aim to recover the civic, cultural, and personal relationships that still remain invisible but latent.




Part TWO Urban Masterplan:
In collaboration with Thorben Muller and Vivienne Yao

 While considering Farigola Street as a continual public experience, the masterplan recognizes this intimate neighborhood's existing and diverse characteristics. The proposal redesigns pockets of empty spaces as extensions of a home, giving each space its own atmosphere similar to the quality of the domestic experience. 

Considering the Farigola neighborhood as an extension of the home characterizes our project. We identify spaces along Farigola Street as spaces with domestic qualities. The big brownfield that is facing the Avenue Vallcarca is reinterpreted as a generous entrance. The community center, which is currently being built, can be seen as the living room where people meet and hold events. The urban farming plot becomes a big vegetable garden. And finally, the quarry is considered to be the quiet back garden. In rereading the existing, we recognize and highlight the different qualities and atmospheres along Farigola street.





Part THREE Urban Housing Proposal:
Individual Work