Ming Chen

Lucid Gathering

January 2026

Medium:

Architecture

Lucid Gathering reimagines the SESC building as an open and active community space within the dense urban fabric of São Paulo. Instead of being a closed institutional building, it allows people to freely enter, move through, and use the space in everyday life. A continuous ramp connects programs including basic healthcare, sports and public gathering, creating a shared spatial experience that encourages interaction, movement, and visibility. The project is built around a bamboo scaffolding structure with CLT floor plates and a translucent soy-based bio-plastic facade. These material choices are rooted in the Brazilian context: bamboo is used as a local material, and the bio-plastic facade is designed as soy-based, responding to Brazil’s agricultural resources. Together, they create a system that is both structural and environmental. The facade becomes more transparent at the lower levels to support openness and public use, while the upper levels provide more enclosure for private medicare spaces. As an architectural artifact, Lucid Gathering explores how local materials, public circulation, and layered transparency can shape a welcoming and socially engaged urban building.

About the Artist

Ming Chen

I am an architectural designer with a strong focus on sustainable design, ecological systems, and the integration of emerging technologies. My work explores how architecture can mediate the relationship between people and the environment, emphasizing environmental responsiveness and social impact. Through academic and professional experiences, I have engaged in projects across multiple scales, from conceptual design to construction documentation, with particular attention to structural logic, spatial quality, and buildability. I am also interested in advancing design processes through computational tools, digital fabrication, and bio-based materials. I see architecture not only as the creation of space, but as a medium that connects individuals, communities, and nature. Moving forward, I aim to develop design strategies that are both innovative and grounded, responding thoughtfully to complex real-world conditions.

Ming Chen

Lucid Gathering

January 2026

Medium:

Architecture

Lucid Gathering reimagines the SESC building as an open and active community space within the dense urban fabric of São Paulo. Instead of being a closed institutional building, it allows people to freely enter, move through, and use the space in everyday life. A continuous ramp connects programs including basic healthcare, sports and public gathering, creating a shared spatial experience that encourages interaction, movement, and visibility. The project is built around a bamboo scaffolding structure with CLT floor plates and a translucent soy-based bio-plastic facade. These material choices are rooted in the Brazilian context: bamboo is used as a local material, and the bio-plastic facade is designed as soy-based, responding to Brazil’s agricultural resources. Together, they create a system that is both structural and environmental. The facade becomes more transparent at the lower levels to support openness and public use, while the upper levels provide more enclosure for private medicare spaces. As an architectural artifact, Lucid Gathering explores how local materials, public circulation, and layered transparency can shape a welcoming and socially engaged urban building.

About the Artist

Ming Chen

I am an architectural designer with a strong focus on sustainable design, ecological systems, and the integration of emerging technologies. My work explores how architecture can mediate the relationship between people and the environment, emphasizing environmental responsiveness and social impact. Through academic and professional experiences, I have engaged in projects across multiple scales, from conceptual design to construction documentation, with particular attention to structural logic, spatial quality, and buildability. I am also interested in advancing design processes through computational tools, digital fabrication, and bio-based materials. I see architecture not only as the creation of space, but as a medium that connects individuals, communities, and nature. Moving forward, I aim to develop design strategies that are both innovative and grounded, responding thoughtfully to complex real-world conditions.

Ming Chen

Lucid Gathering

January 2026

Medium:

Architecture

Lucid Gathering reimagines the SESC building as an open and active community space within the dense urban fabric of São Paulo. Instead of being a closed institutional building, it allows people to freely enter, move through, and use the space in everyday life. A continuous ramp connects programs including basic healthcare, sports and public gathering, creating a shared spatial experience that encourages interaction, movement, and visibility. The project is built around a bamboo scaffolding structure with CLT floor plates and a translucent soy-based bio-plastic facade. These material choices are rooted in the Brazilian context: bamboo is used as a local material, and the bio-plastic facade is designed as soy-based, responding to Brazil’s agricultural resources. Together, they create a system that is both structural and environmental. The facade becomes more transparent at the lower levels to support openness and public use, while the upper levels provide more enclosure for private medicare spaces. As an architectural artifact, Lucid Gathering explores how local materials, public circulation, and layered transparency can shape a welcoming and socially engaged urban building.

About the Artist

Ming Chen

I am an architectural designer with a strong focus on sustainable design, ecological systems, and the integration of emerging technologies. My work explores how architecture can mediate the relationship between people and the environment, emphasizing environmental responsiveness and social impact. Through academic and professional experiences, I have engaged in projects across multiple scales, from conceptual design to construction documentation, with particular attention to structural logic, spatial quality, and buildability. I am also interested in advancing design processes through computational tools, digital fabrication, and bio-based materials. I see architecture not only as the creation of space, but as a medium that connects individuals, communities, and nature. Moving forward, I aim to develop design strategies that are both innovative and grounded, responding thoughtfully to complex real-world conditions.