m a n h l e t r a n

m a n h l e t r a n

Vietnamese

University of Southern California - School of Architecture (USC) 2013-15 (expt.) Master of Architecture - First Professional candidateHo Chi Minh City University of Architecture (HCMUARC) 2006-11 Bachelor of Architecture (5 years)

M.I.A Design Studio . Intern 02-07|2012 Assist Principal Partner in concept design Deliverables: concept design, CAD drawings, presentation boardsOng & Ong Viet Nam . Intern 12|2011–01|2012 Assist senior architects in updating elevation CAD drawings Deliverables: CAD drawings

Revit, Rhino, Sketchup, AutoCAD, T-Splines, Grasshopper, RhinoBIM, LadybugPhotoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, CorelDrawWoodshop skills, clay modeling, preparation for 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC millingVray for Rhino, Artlantis Studio, Lumion, RevitPigment ink, pencil, watercolorWord, Excel, Powerpoint

Graduate Scholarship 01|2013 University of Southern California - School of Architecture Syracuse University - School of ArchitectureCompetition . Viet Connection in High-tech Space 06|2010 Concept Prize Competition . 7th National Festival of Architecture Students 03|2010 Third Prize . Design Charrette First Prize . Knowledge ContestCompetition . Phu Quoc Prison of War Martyrs Memorial 03|2009 First Prize Scholarship . HCMUARC Semester Merit Scholarship 09|2008 Full tuition for 2nd semester of 2007-2008 college yearCompetition . Creative Architecture Talents 2008 03|2008 First Prize . Architectural Ideas Contest

USC NAAB Accreditation Visit Exhibition 01|2014 Los Angeles Soundspace (included)Lantern Journal Volume II Issue 1 Spring 2013 (lanternjournal.org) 03|2013 Phu Quoc Prison of War Martyrs Memorial (included) Opening the Black Box by Sullivan Gallery and School of The Art Institute of Chicago 10|2012 One-way Transparency

Chicago Torture Justice Memorial Project 10|2012 Contribute volunteer memorial design conceptVietnam 7th National Festival of Architecture Students 03|2010 1 of 4 senior members selected from virtually 300 students of class of 2011 Undergraduate class monitor 2006-11 Assist professors and classmates in classroom activities Organize extracurricular activities for classmates (architectural field trips, street sketching days, vacation travels, etc.)Architectural forum www.hoathat.info 2007-11 Founder and administrator (forum to connect students of HCMUARC)

Vietnamese nativeEnglish TOEFL iBT 100French Certificate of General Secondary Education Level (rating Good) (Franco - Vietnamese Bilingual Baccalaureate 12-year program)

Name Manh Le TranPhone (1) 619 302 4827Mail lemanh17@gmail.com | manhtran@usc.eduAddress 2629 Portland St. 90007 LA CA USAHi-res Portfolio http://issuu.com/manhtran/docs/big_issu

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In my works included here, I have been passionately focusing on the poetics and symbolics of forms and spaces, elements that I believe could generate the elevated spiritual sense indispens-able in architecture. While doing that, I tried to integrate in my works not only spiritual meanings but also reasonable functional and performative values in order to avoid replicating the mistake of postmodernist merely representational approach.

P H U Q U O C P R I S O N O F W A R M A R T Y R S M E M O R I A L Phu Quoc Prison of War, also known as the Coconut Tree Prison, is located in Phu Quoc, a large archipelago in Viet Nam’s south west sea. In the 1960s, at the height of the Viet Nam War, it was expanded by the South Vietnam regime (Viet Nam Cong Hoa) for detaining their prisoners of war (POWS), the soldiers of North Viet Nam communist regime’s (Viet Nam Dan Chu Cong Hoa’s) military who fought for the country’s independence and reunification.

march 2009 . undergrad third year studio. memorial hall . short-listed contest . first prize

Phu Quoc Prison of War is an evidence for the war crimes committed by the South Vietnamese regime in the Viet Nam War. Here, the prisoners suffered here the most barbarous torture methods, such as breaking teeth with pliers, pounding nails into their bodies or burying alive. Despite the inhumanly cruel maltreatment, the POWs’ spirit remained indomitable. The tortures caused thousands of deaths to the POWs. Most of them were then buried unnamed in collective graves in the surrounding areas. Since 2005, excavation team found numerous burial graves with the largest containing more than 4.000 remains of the martyrs.After the war, a Memorial Park project was planned in the southwest area of the prison, where a excavation grave containing more than 4000 sets of remains of martyrs was found, most of them were tortured to death. The Park’s main memorial monument, located at that grave, became a studio assignment for our class of middlers. The project area was limited to a square of 50 x 50 meters.

excavation grave

excavated prisoner’s bone with nail pounded in

For me, nothing could tell better of the war crimes at Phu Quoc Prison, in particular, and what my people had suffered during the painful years of the Viet Nam War, in general, than the spiritual image of the Hole.

Holes of wound that bullets left in our bodies.Holes of destruction that bombs ploughed up on our lands.Holes of inhumanity in the minds of wardens at Phu Quoc Prison.Holes of hatred between brothers under the same roofs.Holes of loneliness of mothers, sisters, daughters whose sons, husbands, fathers will never come back home again.Holes of emptyness, of nonsense, of stupidity, of cruelty, of every heinousnesses this War had caused, this War that killed more than 6 million of my compatriots!

I wanted to tell the war story of the Hole.I tried to ritualize the Hole.

ground plan0 5 10

The memorial was to elicit a sense of reverence for the indomitability and the sacrifices made by the prisoners, as well as for the pains and the losses the Viet Nam War had caused to my people. This must be conveyed not in a way to nourish hostility or hatred, but to generate a profound contemplation of the nonsense of the Viet Nam war.

section

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side elevation

0 2 4

front elevation

0 2 4

0 5 10

-5,000 plan

The underground memorial space is situated at -5.000. More than 4,000

remains of the executed prisoners of war were excavated at this level and position.

S A I G O N P O E T S M E M O R I A L H A L L

My 16-week graduation project, the Sai Gon Poets Memorial Hall, was a conver-sion from a compound of chaotic small shops and degraded footbal yards into a memorial hall for late prominent vietnamese poets and a venue for literature activities. As the project is located between the historic Independence Palace and the Tao Dan cultural park in the center of Sai Gon (Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam), the main design goals were to add a sense of harmony into this culturally and historically sensitive urban context, build a connection between the Palace and the park, as well as bring back the green to this heavily concrete-covered area of the park.

Inspired by late 20th century sacred vietnamese songs and poems, the Memorial Hall was conceived to demonstrate the concept of “an empty sky of pristine clouds from heaven”, a metaphorical image remembering the beautiful souls of these poetry geniuses. With most of the building’s volume goes underground, a large flower and water surface smoothly blend the Memorial Hall into the romantic park landscape and soften views from the Independence Palace.

february 2011 . undergraduate graduation project . cultural museum

“spring swallow, winter snow

Bui Giang

Independence palace elevation park elevation

0 7 14

master plan

axonometric perspectives

Site map shows the urban green context of the project, which abuts the Independence Palace on the north-east and the Tao Dan park on the south-west. Therefore, building a harmonious connection between the Palace and the park became a top priority.

A courtyard, at -10.000 level, divides the building into 2 volumes: the exhibition hall to the north and other functions (auditorium, admistration, cafeteria, library) to the south. By this measure, the tranquil exhibition hall can be separated from the more active areas. Also, the courtyard has a certain separation from the park’s atmosphere without being isolated roughly from the romantic park scenery.

Visitors access the volumes through the two staircases or the three entrances in the courtyard.

view toward the Memorial Hall from Tao Dan park

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bridge

staircase to exhibition hall

ramp to basement

staircase to library and audi-torium lobbies

entrances

drop-off

site map

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-10,000 plan

. exhibition hall . courtyard . auditorium . cafeteria . literature clubs

-4,000 plan

. exhibition hall . bridge walkway . library and bookstore

section through courtyard0 5 10

lobby of auditorium with stair leading upto the park

longitudinal sections

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Formed as a memorial sculpture, the multimedia room displays

visual documentaries about the poets.

“bedraggled in the rain a haggard soul recalling untouched pearls of the old pristine days ...” Kiem Xuan Tran

exhibition lobby

“an empty sky of pristine clouds from heaven”Trinh Cong Son

a torture device

a torture victim and his injuries

Jon Burge

ONE-WAY

TRANSPARENCY

a victim’s denunciation carved on cell wall

april 2012 . individual volunteer work . chicago torture justice memorial project

Chicago Area 2 Police Station

From 1972 to 1991, under the command of Jon Burge, former commander of the Chicago Police Depart-ment, over one hundred wrongfully accused African American were tortured by Chicago police officers and forced into giving confessions. To memorialize the Chicago Police Torture, the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial project (CTJM) calls for proposals for a memorial monument.

From my perspective, the Chicago Torture reminds us of a constant threat: wherever the Light can’t reach, there are chances for the Dark to rise. Inspired by the concept of transparency, literally and figuratively, I proposed a vertical one-way glass panel. In my view, it was the lack of transparency in the activities of law enforcement in general, and Jon Burge’s office in particular, that allowed this heinous crime to happen and covered it from the public and the justice for such a long period.

This project was exhibited at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) Sullivan Galleries in “The Charge Is Torture” exhibition, organized by SAIC and CTJM. The exhibition model was made, by the exhibition organizers.

exhibition model

A namelist of the torture victims can be seen from the transparent side of the glass. The list is not visible from the other side.

street elevation sidewalk elevation0 1 2

Reminiscent of one-way mirrors commonly installed in interrogation rooms, my proposal metaphorically denounces the obstruction of transparency as the main bolstering factor of the Chicago Torture. As showed in the perspective above, the memorial was proposed to be placed right before Jon Burge’s office, the former Area 2 Police Station in Chicago, where most of the torture cases occured. People can’t see through the mirror from the street, while the ones inside can observe the street clearly.

L O S A N G E L E S S O U N D S P A C E As a school of music, LA Soundspace is the best place for one to self-discover. It is important to encourage discussion and interaction, either formally and informally, as they are crucial to the enriching of musical characters. To serve this, “Playscape” plays as the first primary design concept of the project. Large shaded semi-outdoor spaces need to be created in order to encourage and favoritize interaction. The Playscape will give the Soundspace a level of popularity and accescibility which will allow it to become a relaxing and exciting cultural venue for Los Angeles, rather than a typical “academia” music school merely serving “intellectual” class.

fall 2013 . USC graduate studio . Music school

DESIGN SCHEME STUDY/The form of the building embodies the idea of Resonance, one of the majors characteristics of sound. The building is seen as an oscillating element that resonates together with the ground to become a unified object. What could be created is a symbolic form that generates the sense of music, of excitement. The theme Resonance also represents the oscillation movement of the Angel Flight, a unique historical character of the site. “Oscillation” is also further developed as the main theme for circulation inside the building: the free internal flow oscillates between educational and performance areas. The resonance effect creates a large outdoor shaded performance space in the space in between the building and the ground. Therefore the form of the building communicate the theme not only formally aesthetically but also functionally.

BUILDING SYNTAX

Initial condition: no “conversation” between ground and building

The building and the ground resonate together and become a unified object. The ground with new resonating topography naturally transforms into a shaded outdoor performance space.

Two openings bring light downto outdoor performance space below.

Large opening on elevation opens large views outward the city scenery and bring light and air to the main lobby. Elevated structure allows for unobstructed views from interior.

More openings bring view, light and air to interior programs and circulation areas.

0 20 40 60 80

FEET

SITE PLAN

HILL STREET ELEVATION 4TH STREET ELEVATION

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FEET

Location of HVAC system room

SECTION 1-1’

BUILDING COMPONENTS AND LAYERS /

Layer 1: facade material Layer 2: interior material

++ +

+=

+ +

+

Ceiling Interior partition and access ramp Floor slab

Beam grid 1 Beam grid 2 Supporting columns

y-grid distance

x-gr

id d

ista

nce

8’

13.5

’

0 8 16 24 32

FEET

SECTION 2-2’

Ground-level Playscape for public

0.5-1% - Flat2% - Almost Flat2-8.3% - Ramps8.33-14% - Ramps Non-ADA14-63.6% - Stairs>63.6% - Non accessable

WALKING ANALYSIS GRADING ANALYSISlegend

requires reinforcement

shallow slope

legend

drainage direction

PROGRAM/

Vertical circulation

basement for technical areas and loading

elevated Playscape for students

Music classrooms

Performance

Service and Admin

Outdoor Performance

ground-level Playscape for public

technical floor

The site presents a challenging altitude difference with a 60 ft difference between highest and lowest points.

Elevated Playscape: an elevated platform hosts all programs of the Soundspace. The semi-open atmosphere creates a strong sense of community which enrich the musical education through informal interaction between students.

SITE GRADING ANALYSIS/

0 20 40 60 80

FEET

+40’

+41’

+40’

+40’

+40’

+42’

+46’

+46’

+48.5’

visitor service250 sqft

prep kitchen240 sqft

back stage576 sqft

performance hall4040 sqft

av room182 sqft

storage168 sqft

post production524 sqft

recording room233 sqft

recording room243 sqft

administration700 sqft

practice room290 sqft

practice room435 sqft

practice room438 sqft

practice room114 sqft

classroom817 sqft

classroom900 sqft

side stage250 sqft

dressingroom

151 sqft

dressingroom

156 sqft

female wc530 sqft

CIRCULATION/

.external

.internal

secondary egress/access to school

area

primary (ADA) egress/access to building programs and ourdoor

performance space

access to outdoor performance space

service access to basement

egress from service areas

Emergency stairs

ADA ramps

Elevators

FLOOR PLAN LEVEL +40’

Elevated Playscape for students

Thank you for your time and consideration!