Interlocking Opposition

Spring 2023 - Design Studio Arch 601
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Critic: Danielle Willems
Collaboration with:  Changfeng Luo, Spica Liu, Regina Gonano

Interlocking Opposition seeks to blur the lines between materiality while at the same time utilizing materials to take architectural stances on frame, boundary, and corner.

We began by looking at how contrasting materials begin to fuse. Shifting tectonics, planar face coverage, blending of hues, and form manipulation help materials to take on tactile and sensory traits that do not belong to the material inherently. At what point does volume and object break down into interior space was another question we explored. Interlocking Opposition experiments with the delineation of interior vs. exterior being formed from a soft melding of materials.

Interlocking Opposition was constructed with a series of material manipulations and combinations. The custom bent pvc pipes drip into each other to create an architectural framework. Hand cut foam and assembled MDF were disguised with rockite to set sturdy boundary markers and define territory. Carbon Fiber weaving reinforces curvature in the model while connecting materials to each other. The upscaled, brightly colored tubes have a singular stance on unity as they simultaneously attract the eye while acting as a continuous thread between volume. Color on the rest of the model ebbs and flows between planar surfaces, sometimes abutting to volumetric edges, and sometimes continuing past edge boundaries.


Harris Yuxiang Hao - Portfolio - Selected Work 2018-2025