INFRASTRUCTURE - EV Charging Station
Simulatenously Cycling Energy, Vehicles, and Visitors in a Charging Station
Year : 2026 Thesis
Instructor : Chris Bardt
Second Advisor : Shou Jie Eng
Site : Jeju Island, South Korea
The thesis explores how the flows of vehicles, visitors, wawter, and electricity can become visible through architecture. The electric vehicle charging station absorbs surplus electricity from the grid during periods of overgeneration and discharges energy from parked vehicles back into the grid at night. Rather than treating infrastructure as a hidden techinical system, this project reimagines it as a living spatial experience that can be seen, occupied and felt.
THESIS PROBE, FALL 2025
< dots, numbers, lines, lines and all >
Thesis Probe examines how order and disorder can coexist on a shared surface. I stitched into plywood, perforating it from both sides. Although the material was continuous, each face revealed distinct logics through the movement of the thread. On the front surface, the stitch progressed in a strictly orthogonal pattern at 1” increments, advancing in a clockwise sequence. On the reverse surface, however, the placement of holes and the resulting lines were allowed to develop more freely. When an aniticipated stitch would intersect an existing line, the procedure shifted direction and continued coutnerclockwise.
· · ·
As this rule-based process accumulated, a threshold emerged. Despite adjustments in direciton, intersections with prior lines became unavoidable. At that point, the stitching was stopped. This behavior closely parallels electrical flow, which continually negotiates constraints while tending toward the path of least resistance.
THESIS WINTERSESSION, WINTER 2026
Inspired by the thesis probe, this coceptual model was developed before the site was designated, exploring a strategy of avoiding resistance. Usign the points from the probe as a generative base, the mass was formed by negotiating around the wooden sticks rather than directly confronting them. The heights of the masses undulate in response to the curvilinear geometry, allowing the form to adapt to its immediate surroundings. The taped foundations around the sticks also suggest a method of bunding and organizing, recalling the way electrical wires are managed and stabilized within infrasturctural systems.
For the book design, Toner-reactive foil was used to allow selected areas to absorb heat and change color. A similar material logic was applied to black sponge, which was treated to absorb water only in specific areas by adjusting the speed and amounts. This techinique was used to represent the porous quality of basalt rock in Jeju Island, translating the island’s material condition into a tactile and responsive design element.
THESIS, SPRING 2026
In an age of energy scarcity, Jeju Island faces an opposite condition. It produces more renewable electricity than it can absorb during the day. This thesis explores how architecture can respond to that surplus. As Jeju moves toward its ‘2035 Carbon Free Island’ vision, electric vehicles become more than transportation. They act as mobile batteries, absorbing electricity by day and returning it at night. Through this rhythm, the charging station becomes part of the island’s energy metabolism.
The project reimagines the EV charging station as living infrastructure. It is not only a technical device, but a place of rest, food, and exchange. While cars are charged, people also recharge through local crops, meals, and the atmosphere of Jeju. Rooted in the island’s volcanic landscape, the facade recalls piled basalt stones. It is also inspired by the battery membrane, where ions move across a thin threshold through charging and discharging. The facade becomes a porous mediator, filtering light, air, energy, and movement. Charging becomes a participation in the island’s daily energy flow.
Drawings & Model Images