Ting Chin of Linearscape | Wild Walk in Tupper Lake | Connecting Buildings and Landscapes
Courtesy of Linearscape
Connecting Buildings and Landscapes
I am joined by Ting Chin, founding principal of Linearscape, an award-winning New York City-based design firm. Linearscape was awarded the prestigious 2012 AIA ENYA Award for their submission “Sym’bio’pia” to the Harlem Edge Competition. Known for its unique designs, the firm focuses on connecting the urban environments to architecture, and architecture to landscape. Today we discuss the ways that buildings and landscapes can be integrated effectively and efficiently with thoughtful designs.
Ting also shares her experience designing Wild Walk, an interactive nature walk at the Wild Center. Built-in the forest, this project guides visitors into the treetops to offer a new perspective of the forest. It is a seamless integration of nature and the urban landscape, pushing the boundaries of innovative design. Through her designs, practices, and teachings, Ting continues to inspire future architects by cultivating connections between people and place.
Join us on this week’s episode as we discuss the design process of Wild Walk, how to connect the urban landscape with nature, and her experience as the founding principal of an award-winning interdisciplinary design studio based out of New York City.
“The Wild Walk is part of The Wild Center, and The Wild Center was initially started as the natural history museum of the Adirondacks. The idea for the museum began as a way to teach people about the Adirondacks and to explore the relationship between people and the natural world. So the museum began by starting a fundraising effort with a single letter that was mailed to residents in the area. The letter offered a membership to the museum, which only existed as an idea. But through the letter, the museum was able to raise $500,000, which was a large sum at the time and for that area. And then with that money, the museum’s board launched an international search for a design team and they chose HOK.”
Courtesy of Linearscape
About Ting Chin
Ting Chin is a founding principal of Linearscape, an award-winning New York city-based design firm focused on the interplay between landscapes and buildings. She began her career at HOK and TPG Architecture and is an alum of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. As the Co-director of the Bachelor of Architecture program at the New York City College of Technology, she inspires future architects with her teachings and practices that engage in research, exploration, and collaboration.
Courtesy of Linearscape
Episode Timestamps
2:40 – How did growing up in New York City impact your path into design and what are some of the earliest influences that you've had?
4:55 – You went from Washington to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then you found your way back to New York City. Talk to us about that path for you in terms of your career and your life stages.
7:12 – You’re a professor at New York City College of Technology. Help us understand what its mission is, its structure, and why you chose to take a role there.
12:02 – Talk more about how you feel that technology is shaping architectural education.
14:08 – Wild Walk is located at Tupper Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. Describe this region to us.
15:30 – Wild Center is dedicated to connecting people with nature. Tell us about how it got started and how you first got involved with their work.
17:48 – What was your design process in going through this project?
23:02 – You had the opportunity to work on master plans and also buildings in incredible pastoral settings. What have you learned from those projects about designing buildings within a natural context?
24:52 – You also had an opportunity to work on a re-imagining of the New York City street system itself as well. Could you talk about that?
27:40 – I'd love to hear your perspective on the way policy is written or talked about after your experience with the streetscape.
31:10 – When you look forward in your career, what do you hope to achieve?
Connect with Ting Chin:
LinkedIn (Ting Chin)
Instagram (Linearscape)
LinkedIn (Linearscape)
Linearscape Architecture
Courtesy of Linearscape
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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