YEARBOOK 2015 - 2016 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

IMPRESSUM

The 2015-2016 YEARBOOK is a publication by the

Department of Architecture, produced in an effort to

bring together, represent and communicate the diversity

of academic and architectural outcomes generated by

our of staff and students. This publication would be not

have been possible without the careful selection of texts,

projects and activities done by all members of staff.

The 2015-2016 YEARBOOK has benefitted enormously from

the generous advice and input of Pierre-Alain Croset,

Claudia Westermann and Christian Gänshirt, along

with support from Bert de Muynck. The YEARBOOK was

designed by Designtang with many of the photographs

kindly provided by Milan Ognjanovic.

建

筑

系

西

交

利

物

浦

大

学

2015-2016

YEARBOOK

© 2017 Department of Architecture, XJTLU

Edited by Peta Carlin

Building DB 111 Renai Road

SIP Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District

Suzhou

Jiangsu Province

P. R. China 215123

www.xjtlu.edu.cn

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Department of Architecture

CONTENTS

01

03

Introduction

The New Design Building as A Pedagogic Instrument

B

B Eng Architecture Level 02 Year 3

M

M Architectural Design

P

Programme Introduction 65 ARC203 History of Asian Architecture

Programme Introduction

Level 00 Year 1

15

17

ARC001

ARC002

Level 01 Year 2

21

23

25

27

29

31

33

35

47

55

ARC107

ARC110

ARC103

ARC104

ARC108

ARC111

ARC112

ARC101

ARC105

ARC102

Introduction to Architecture and

Visual Culture

Architectural Representation and

Communication

History of Western Architecture

Humanities and Culture

Introduction to Environmental

Science

Structure and Materials

Construction and Materials

Integrated Design of Small Buildings

Architectural Technology and

Innovation

Design Studio |Design Thinking and

Articulation

Design Studio | Small Space Design

Design Studio | Small Scale Architectural

Design

67

69

71

73

85

ARC206

ARC201

ARC202

ARC205

ARC204

Level 03 Year 4

99 ARC301

101 ARC303

103 ARC306

105 ARC308

107 ARC305

117

ARC304

Urban Studies

Environmental Design and

Sustainability

Structural Design

Design Studio | Small Urban Buildings

Design Studio | Design and Building

Typology

Architectural Technology

Architectural Theory

Professional Practice

Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics

Design Studio | Small and Medium

Scale Buildings

Design Studio | Final Year Project

Level 04 Year 1

139

141

143

145

147

155

163

ARC403

ARC407

ARC402

ARC406

ARC405

ARC404

ALA

Level 04 Year 2

167

169

171

173

175

ARC409

ARC411

ARC408

ARC413

ARC410

Applied Technology in Architecture

Architectural Theory and Criticism

Advanced Professional Practice

Topics in Architectural History

Design Studio 1

Design Studio 2

Additional Learning Activities

Architectural Design and Research

Methods

Practice Based Enquiry and Architectural

Representation

Thesis Dissertation

Design Studio 3

Design Studio 4

179

181

183

185

187

189

191

193

195

197

199

204

211

221

222

224

Parallel

Activities

Suzhou International Architecture Workshop

Tour to Italy

Research Trip to the Old Pugao Village

Freestyle Bridge Design Competition

Summer Undergraduate Research Fund

Cardboard Bridges

2015 Architecture Study Trip to Nanjing-Wuxi

Timber translations

Independent & Inquisitive

Senseable Cities

Masterplanning the Future

Research

Staff Research 2015-2016

PhD Candidates

Students

Academic Staff

Academic Position Statement

INTRODUCTION

This third issue of the Yearbook of the Department of

Architecture contains a number of important developments.

Firstly, the Department moved last summer

into the new Design Building in the South Campus,

shared with the Department of Industrial Design,

with building’s facilities of the highest international

standards, and with a strong architectural identity,

which offers an ideal showcase for its staff and students

in spaces with a particular character.

Secondly, this Yearbook not only includes work from

the BEng Architecture Programme but also, for the

first time, the design activity of the Master of Architectural

Design undertaken during the 2015-2016

the academic year. The quality of the work produced

by the Masters students has been recognised by the

RIBA Visiting Board who awarded candidate course

status to the Master of Architectural Design programme,

the first for a Chinese University, and a preliminary

step towards RIBA validation (Part Two) of

the programme following the graduation in Summer

2017 of the first cohort of Master students.

be completed shortly and will further reinforce the

research and teaching activity of the Department.

In the appendix to this Yearbook, the Academic

Position Statement describes the Department’s

Identity and Vision, which is encapsulated far better

in images than in words; the selected works of the

students a testament to the high quality of our programmes.

For this reason, I would like to thank again

all the teaching staff for their passion and expertise,

together with the students for their enthusiasm and

engagement.

Pierre Alain Croset

Head of the Department of Architecture

Thirdly, the research activity of the Department has

improved, despite the increasing number of university

faculties (26 at the end of December 2016), and

focuses on three strategic headline research areas.

History, Theory and Heritage addresses questions

pertaining to multiculturalism and trans-nationalism.

Computational Design and Fabrication explores the

innovative capacity of digital tools in design processes

and professional practice; and, Urban Ecologies

engages with the changing nature of global urbanisation,

with an emphasis on radically new approaches

to the study of cities and their environment. The

Department is also committed to Research by Design.

To this end, a new Design Research Centre was established

in 2016 in order to facilitate small-scale pilot

projects, the centre emerging from Design Research

Institute (founded in 2013). Other new facilities, a

Building Physics Lab and a Materials Library, will

03

04

THE NEW DESIGN

BUILDING AS A PEDAGOGIC

INSTRUMENT

2015-2016 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西交利物浦大学建筑系

The new Design Building, inaugurated in August

2016 and shared with the Department of Industrial

Design, is conceived of as a pedagogic instrument.

The Department of Architecture has been responsible

for the choices regarding the general layout and

the interior design, with the building programmed for

450 architecture students, it presently occupied by

about 350 along with 30 or so academic and support

staff members.

Ground Floor: The Factory

Entry into the building opens up to a double-high

lobby space: with a large auditorium located on the

one side, and on the other, a large window enabling

views into the workshops, which are organised

around the central core of a materials library. The

workshops include: a laser cutter shop, a wood and

metal workshop, a printing shop, a 3D-printing shop,

a CNC machine along with an archive. The materials

library, still under construction, will house a permanent

exhibition of approximately 500 samples. The

two lateral corridors are separated from the workshops

by a row of long glass shelves which will allow

the best student works produced to be exhibited.

First Floor: The Exhibition Courtyard

The central space of the building features a four-storey

glazed-roof atrium, which can be used for small

exhibitions, with its design allowing for the hanging

of drawings and photographs from the balconies.

This central exhibition courtyard is surrounded by

design studio spaces used by the Industrial Design

department, and two seminar rooms used by both

departments.

Second and Third Floor: The Design Studios as a

Small City

The second and third floors are the centre of student

activity. As designers, it is the place where they

spend the greatest part of the day (and often night,

because the studios are open 24/7). The studios have

been designed to give a “Chinese feel” to the building,

with the corridors evoking the streets of a traditional

Chinese village, with their wooden facades and

wooden doors.

Each studio is possessed of two-leaved doors with

their outer faces painted and their inner faces clad

in cork. When all the doors are closed, only the

continuity of the facades painted in the four typical

colours of the Chinese tradition: yellow, red, dark

blue and dark green, is perceived. When the doors

are open, the cork surfaces are revealed, expanding

the surface area used for the presentation of

students’ work.

As in a city, where the streets are public and the

houses private, these design studios enact a clear

separation between spaces for individual work, and

spaces for the social interaction. Every student works

in a small unit of six or eight students, which offers

optimum conditions for individual work, with the

space of the central “streets,” at a width of four metres,

operating not only as a connective spaces, but as

shared social spaces.

The work units are organised following the progression

of the years in the programmes. In the western

part of the building, Year 2 students are located

towards the building’s centre, and the Year 3 students

along its edges, these areas interconnected through

the central corridors. In the eastern part of the building,

situated around the central courtyard, the Year 4

students occupy the space along the southern facade,

with the Masters students positioned along the north

face. This organisation offers the possibility of a

stronger interconnection between all the students,

which is evident especially during informal reviews.

The progression of the years is reflected in the

05

06


dimensions of the studios: 4 m2 for every Year 2

student, 6 m2for the Year 3 students, 8 m2 for the

Year 4 students and 10 m2 for the Masters students.

The same organisation characterises the third floor,

with the only exception being that the Master design

studios are missing at the north-east corner, and are

replaced instead by a number of Department

staff offices.

Each workplace is equipped with a table covered

with PVC (90 × 180 cm), a seat with a screw for regulating

the height, and a small locker. Complementary

shelves and tables are available in the studios

for archiving the work in progress and for shared

activities.

Fourth floor: the Offices

Staff offices (for both departments), secretarial offices

and meeting rooms are located on the top floor.

Other teaching facilities are also located on the third

and fourth floors, including two computer rooms

with each equipped with 30 PC workstations.

Interior Design

Pierre-Alain Croset, with the collaboration of

Quanqing Lu, Qian Lin, Li-An Tsien.

Project Management

Yunpeng Liu, Campus Management Office ( CMO,

XJTLU ).

Photography

Milan Ognjanovic

07

08


09

10

Contemporary China is at the threshold of a new era in thinking

urbanism and architecture. It presents exciting opportunities for an

architectural education at the forefront of architectural discourse

and with an international outlook. Against the backdrop of fastpaced

modernisation, the Department of Architecture at XJTLU

engages with the challenges and contradictions of architecture in

China in an open-minded and forward thinking manner. Our students

profit from the experiences of a highly international academic

faculty, and critically engage with the questions facing architecture

today both locally and internationally.


B ENG

ARCHITECTURE

PROGRAMME

INTRODUCTION

Innovation and development of the built environment derive from

critical observation, constructive debate, speculation and experimentation.

As academics and architects we involve ourselves in

debates, challenge common perceptions and evaluate traditions. We

profit from our unique location in Suzhou, a famous 2,500 year-old

city with UNESCO World Heritage status, just half an hour by train

from Shanghai. Confronted with the past and engaged in the present

our students are guided to design for the future.

The four-year full-time BEng Architecture aims to provide a comprehensive

foundation in architecture. Students are guided to develop

an understanding of the centricity of human needs and desires

in relation to architectural design tasks, and to develop creative and

responsible responses by taking into account the social, cultural,

ecological, economic as well as technological contexts within which

architecture is situated. The programme is centred on applied architectural

design studio modules (50% of credits). These studio modules

are supported by a balanced mix of humanities-based modules (25%

of credits) and technical modules (25% of credits).

The BEng Architecture programme at XJTLU has become the first

programme of its kind at a Chinese university to receive validation

by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), thus demonstrating

XJTLU's commitment to providing world-class, internationally

recognised education to students from China and abroad.

The Royal Institute commended “the Department and staff body

on creating a distinctive environment in which students learn from

an international and Chinese context with an ambition to produce

a new type of graduate, with an emphasis on human-centred architecture,

for the emerging global context.”

Claudia Westermann

2015-16 Programme Director

11

12


Staff and Bachelor students on the 2015-2016

field trip to Nanjing

Admissions Day, 2015

Jianling QIAN presenting her

design studio work for ARC204

Bachelor students participating in

the International Workshop

13

14

LEVEL

00


00

Year 1 prepares students for the subsequent three years. Classes on

English language for academic purposes are taught alongside modules

on mathematics, Chinese culture and physical education. Year 1 also

includes two modules that serve as an introduction to visual culture

and architectural representation.

● ARC001 Introduction to Architecture and Visual Culture

(2.5 credits)

● ARC002 Architectural Representation and Communication

(5 credits)

B Eng Architecture

XJTLU ARCHITECTURE YEARBOOK 2015-2016

15

16

ARC001

Introduction to Architecture and

Visual Culture


He Yuxin | 何昱欣

Photograph of Collage and Model

Level 0

( Year 1 | Semester 1 )

Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Jiawen Han

Teaching Team

Pierre-Alain Croset

Bert de Muynck

Tordis Berstrand

Marian Macken

Christian Gänshirt

Stuart Donaldson

( Language Centre )

Number of Students

345

Focusing on graphic and spatial thinking, this module aims to unleash

students’ imagination regarding architecture and space. This module includes

a series of small projects and workshops, progressing from sketch

ideas, to cut-and-paste procedures through to digital manipulation.

Each project brings the student a step closer to visualising space twoand

three-dimensionally. Various independent projects and workshops

combine to form a structural entirety, thus establishing the basis for the

understanding, analysis and representation of architecture and visual

culture. The module sequence begins with a series of freehand studies in

the first half of the semester (Exercise 1 and 2), then progresses towards

digital manipulation of the drawings/assemblages/sform in the second

half of the semester (Workshops, Exercise 3 and 4).

Level 00 – Year 1

B Eng Architecture Programme

17

18

ARC002

Architectural Representation and

Communication


Level 0


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Marian Macken

Teaching Team

Marta Anaya

Antonio Berton

Joan Cane

Thomas Fischer

Eoin Patrick Jordan

Marian Macken

Peiling Xing

Number of Students

224

Architectural Representation and Communication familiarises students

with architectural perceptions and expressions. Students are introduced

to basic architectural communication and its representational languages.

Key objectives of this Year 1 module are to introduce students to design

thinking and to basic techniques of architectural visualisation, to familiarise

students with notable architects and their works, and to further

enable students to use English as a medium to engage with architecture,

in parallel with the English language modules they take in XJTLU’s

Language Centre.

Level 00 – Year 1


19

20

LEVEL

01


01

Year 2 provides the basis for the subsequent years of the programme.

Students are introduced to the history and theory of architecture,

building science, structure and construction as well as building technology,

in parallel to modules on English language. Experimental studio

modules introduce the presentation, modelling and design of architectural

spaces and small buildings.

● ARC101 Design Studio: Design Thinking and Articulation

(5 credits)

● ARC102 Design Studio: Small Scale Architectural Design

(10 credits)

● ARC103 Introduction to Environmental Science (5 credits)

● ARC104 Structure and Materials (5 credits)

● ARC105 Design Studio: Small Space Design (5 credits)

● ARC107 History of Western Architecture (5 credits)

● ARC108 Construction and Materials (2.5 credits)

● ARC110 Humanities and Culture (2.5 credits)

● EAP107 English Language and Study Skills III for the Built Environment

(10 credits)

B Eng Architecture


21

22

ARC107

History of Western Architecture


Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Edoardo Piccoli

( Associate Professor

Politecnico di Torino

Visiting Lecturer at XJTLU

fall semester 2015 )

Guest Lecturers

Pierre-Alain Croset

Christian Gänshirt

Christiane Herr

Number of Students

120

History of Western Architecture introduces students to key moments

and sites in architectural and urban development from Antiquity through

to the twentieth century, and is largely lecture-based and draws from

key readings. While the main narrative follows a chronological order,

lectures are also concerned with specific themes, terms and concepts,

which are essential to understanding the development of Western

architecture.

In-course exercises include the construction of a model of the ‘primitive

hut’ and the production, in small groups, of A1 posters on specific architectural

themes. Meetings with small groups in the Library are also held,

introducing students to the library while instilling in them the value of

the printed page and the architectural book. A visit to Shanghai focuses

on the identification and analyses of architectural elements and motifs

from the Western tradition, as displayed in the late nineteenth and early

twentieth century architecture of the Bund. As part of their learning

students are required to keep a ‘log’, a personal notebook / sketchbook

which documents course topics and case study analyses, in order to

develop and demonstrate their design thinking through the connections

made from sketches and personal remarks.

Emphasis is placed throughout the course on developing a set of concepts

and terms, related to an essential grid of time- and site- specific information,

that will enable students to successfully navigate through more

advanced issues in architecture history and theory in the following years.

Level 01 – Year 2


23

24

ARC110

Humanities in Architecture


Student’s Cadastre of Windows and Openings found in the Gardens of Canglang Pavilion

Sample of the Students’ Interviews with the Residents of the Studied Routes.

Level 1


Module Credits

2.5

Module Leader

Glen Wash Ivanovic

Number of Students

115

Humanities in Architecture introduces students to architecture and the

built environment as a broadly humanistic concern, and supports their

future studio work by introducing them to theories and methods on the

relationship between humans and place, aiming not only to give students

more analytical approaches to architecture and design, but also to emphasise

for them the relationship between architecture, people, and society.

Through the application of theoretical approaches and tools of spatial

analysis students engage with real sites in the city of Suzhou, understanding

architecture, urbanism, space, and the built environment as

subjects crucially connected to the humanities and social sciences,

including geography, sociology, anthropology and history.

Level 01 – Year 2


25

26

ARC103

Introduction to Environmental

Science


Global Energy Use 1990-2010.

Image source: IPCC report 2014

Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Moon Keun Kim

Number of Students

120

Introducing undergraduate students to the principles of environmental

science in buildings, this module focuses on the quantitative aspect of

building science where students learn the fundamental thermodynamics

essential to the understanding of the building energy performance and

urban environmental impact.

Students learn about: bioclimatic design; the fundamental principles of

heat transfer mechanisms; the role of construction layers in domestic

walls; window lighting and thermal performance, the impact of building

fabric on the energy consumption; urban microclimates; fundamental

passive heating and cooling systems; the difference between building energy

efficiency and energy consumption; fundamental thermodynamics;

heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); moisture condensation;

thermal comfort; psycrometric chart; domestic water; solar principles;

fundamentals in lighting (day light, and artificial light); fundamental

architectural acoustics.

Upon completion of this module, students are able to specify and design

building walls and carry out relevant scientific approaches with numerical

calculation and computer simulation to deliver thermal building

energy performance. And students understand how to specify and design

recommended lighting levels by window size and location in a wall, and

the shading impact on daylight quality in typical rooms. This module also

requires students to understand the energy load associated with space

heating, cooling and ventilation in a building and the impact of building

energy consumption on climate change and global warming.

Level 01 – Year 2


27

28

ARC104

Structures and Materials


Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Christiane M. Herr

Number of Students

109

Structures are integral to buildings. They contribute not only to functional

aspects by supporting loads but also form spaces and thus help to

create architectural qualities. ARC104 provides students with an understanding

of basic structural principles, basic types of structural systems

and their relationships to common construction materials. The module

introduces students to holistic design approaches that aim to integrate

architectural intentions and structural considerations with a view to

local construction contexts.

To support architecture students’ ways of working in the design studio,

students are encouraged to learn through the designing and building of

experimental models. Structural understanding is approached primarily

through visual means, case studies and applied exercises. Structural and

material appropriateness are discussed with a focus on architectural

design concerns and in the context of different regional building cultures.

The module further encourages inter-disciplinary learning and awareness

as contemporary architectural practice involves and requires teamwork

between architects and engineers. As part of this module, engineers

and architects are invited to give guest lectures or guest reviews to foster

architecture students’ cross-disciplinary learning and awareness.

Level 01 – Year 2


29

30

ARC108

Materials and Construction

Yaxin Jiang

Roof Model Study and Drawings


Level 1


Module Credits

2.5

Module Leader

Li-An Tsien

Teaching Team

Li-An Tsien

José Hidalgo

Number of Students

115

Materials and Construction introduces students to the fundamental principles

and elements of construction, as well as to local, contemporary

and innovative materials and building techniques within a global and

local cultural context.

Understanding the logic behind materials and construction is fundamental

to being able to design, conceive and represent buildings, and thus to

building and materialising them.

Technical materials and construction principles are taught in relation to

the broader architectural implications of sustainability, aesthetics and

technology.

Key concepts are critically discussed through case studies and visual

examples as well as reviewed during seminars and applied exercises.

The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the basic

logic underlying construction, and to allow them to bridge their acquired

knowledge of main construction principles with key concepts of aesthetics

/ sustainability / culture / environment within the discipline

of architectural design. Awareness and understanding of construction

principles will help students translate design ideas towards buildable /

innovative concepts and appropriate representation. Lectures will foster

and encourage awareness of construction issues pertaining to global and

local future trends. The module will further nurture an understanding of

the interdisciplinary quality of the professional practice and its constant

requirement of sometimes large collaborative efforts between architects

and various fields of consultants / builders.

Level 01 – Year 2


31

32

ARC111

Integrated Design of Small Buildings


Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Christiane M. Herr

Teaching Team

Christiane M. Herr

Jose Hidalgo

Number of Students

5

The module is provided for the BEng Architectural Engineering Programme

(offered by the Department of Civil Engineering). It is a technically-oriented

studio module, geared to students from an engineering

background, that invites students to develop high quality buildings

through carefully integrating a variety of factors, including aesthetic

and technical aspects. A high level of integration of architectural and

engineering concerns from the very beginning of the design process

is essential in this context. The studio module addresses collaboration

between architects and engineers already early on in the design process,

to establish a holistic and cross-disciplinary perspective on architecture

and engineering. Principles and practice of design are integrated with

principles and practice of technology and construction, with particular

attention given to the unifying overall framework of an architectural

design concept. Students are offered a first opportunity for conceptual

design thinking and cross-disciplinary collaboration to establish core

competencies for bridging the fields of architecture and engineering.

The module provides a series of theoretical lectures on techniques of

architectural site analysis as well as on typical materials employed in

architectural structures, including concrete, steel, masonry, timber and

glass. As main task in the module, students develop a technically focused

design proposal for a given brief and a given architectural design concept,

in informal collaboration with volunteering architecture students

of the same year. Guest reviewers are drawn from both the Department

of Architecture as well as the Department of Civil Engineering.

Level 01 – Year 2


33

34

ARC112

Architectural Technology and

Innovation


Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Christiane M. Herr

Number of Students

5

The module is provided for the BEng Architectural Engineering Programme

(offered by the Department of Civil Engineering) and provides

students with a broad understanding of architectural design, its history

and theory. The module further prepares students for the following

studio modules, also provided by the Department of Architecture. The

design and construction of high quality buildings involves a holistic and

cross-disciplinary perspective on architecture and engineering. This

module provides students with a broad background of the history and

theory of technology as drivers of innovative design in architecture

and civil engineering, with a particular focus on intersections between

the two fields. Students are introduced to the principles and practice of

building design technology and construction procedures within the overall

framework of an architectural design concept. Moreover, students are

offered an overview of modes of collaboration and innovation between

the fields of architecture and engineering. The module employs both

theoretical lectures and applied modes of learning to prepare students

for subsequent technically oriented architectural design projects. To this

end, a series of short exercises integrating architectural and engineering

components are conducted. Students develop the ability to analyse, understand

and creatively employ skills of research, problem solving and

communication, with a particular focus on using drawing as a catalyst

of interdisciplinary exchanges. Students are introduced to a variety of

buildings at different scales, which students research thoroughly in the

form of detailed case studies. A variety of guest lectures and field trips is

offered to engage students in learning.

Level 01 – Year 2


ARC101

Design Studio

Design Thinking and Articulation

Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Marian Macken

Teaching Team

Marta Anaya

Hanan Bensho

Tordis Berstrand

Joan Cane

Bert Hugo Raf De Muynck

Theodoros Dounas

Thomas Duggett

Christian Gänshirt

Jiawen Han

Marian Macken

This design studio, the students’ first, introduces relationships between

the conception and representation of space through material explorations.

The module is structured through a series of three integrated and

cumulative exercises, completed and documented in a design book.

The exercises are undertaken in groups and individually, with students

working between scales of 1:1, 1:100 and 1:200. The main media of the

module are physical models - as a combination of prescribed materials,

techniques and intentions - drawings, and digital media. The exercises

encourage ongoing research and use of precedents.

This work is translated into a design book, which contains documentation

of the exercises undertaken in ARC101, and additional material. It

is an edited, designed artefact that is a compilation of work, carefully

selected from process work, models, and research, with accompanying

text. It is interpretive of narrative and presents works that is analytical,

emphatically edited, sequential and reflective in tone.

Number of Students

120

Architectural Picnic.

Photograph by Marian Macken

Level 01 – Year 2


37

38


WEAR

Huang Yaoxian | 黄耀贤

Huang Yifei | 黄逸飞

Tian Zhaoxi | 田兆犀

Wang Yuchen | 王雨晨

WEAR

Jiang Yaxin | 姜亚昕

39

40


VOID SOLID VOID

Wang Liu | 王柳

41

42


VOID SOLID VOID

Zhang Xinyu | 张馨予

VOID SOLID VOID

Bai Yuxin | 白雨馨

43

44


VOID SOLID VOID

Wei Zheng | 魏铮

MOVE // RECORD:

DOCUMENTING ACTION

Pan Hongyu | 潘鸿瑜

45

46

MOVE // RECORD:

DOCUMENTING ACTION

Zhou Jian | 周简


MOVE // RECORD:

DOCUMENTING ACTION

Ran Yulin | 冉煜麟

Tu Ouli | 涂欧犁

47

48

ARC105

Design Studio

Small Space Design


Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Tordis Berstrand

Teaching Team

Antonio Berton

Joan Cane

Theo Dounas

Christian Gänshirt

Marian Macken

Bert de Muynck

Caterina Tiazzoldi

Number of Students

114

The Endless House

The ‘Endless House’ is called ‘Endless’ because all ends meet, and meet

continuously … All ends meet in ‘Endless’ as they meet in life. Life’s

rhythms are cyclical. All ends of living meet during twenty-four hours,

during a week, during a life-time. They touch one another with the kiss

of Time. They shake hands, stay, say goodbye, return through the same

or other doors, come and go through multi-links, secretive or obvious,

or through the whims of memory … The events of life are your house

guests.

-Frederick J. Kiesler, ‘The Endless House: A Man-Built Cosmos’, 1962

Of all the spaces that the architect designs, the living space is of a particular

kind. Not simply because most humans require a place to live, but

because of the special relationship between inhabitant and space that

develops and also changes over time. The living space comes to live and

breathe with us through all the things that we do. It is a space that we

take charge of and inscribe ourselves into it in certain ways. We place

our belongings in it, in the hope that this placing will make us feel like

we belong – the living space drawing a circle around our life-world.

The architect’s challenge is to design this space for someone else – most

likely a stranger that s/he has never met. On this occasion, in ARC105,

students worked with a fellow student to invent a character that s/he would

design for. If the habits and hobbies of the invented stranger therefore

were not completely unknown, they nevertheless left a challenge. Drawing

a living space around someone else’s unruly house guests is always in

some ways an attempt at circling the unpredictable.

Level 01 – Year 2


49

50

THE ENDLESS HOUSE

Bai Yuxin | 白雨馨


THE ENDLESS HOUSE

JIANG Yaxin | 姜亚昕

51

52


THE ENDLESS HOUSE

Xia Jianqiang | 夏坚强

THE ENDLESS HOUSE

Hao Shuyi | 郝姝仪

THE ENDLESS HOUSE

Pan Hongyu | 潘鸿瑜

55

56

ARC102

Design Studio

Small Scale Architectural Design


SENIOR HOUSING PROJECT

Zhou Jian | 周简

Level 1


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Bert de Muynck

Teaching Team

Marian Macken

Theodoros Dounas

Christian Gänshirt

Li-An Tsien

Joan Cane

Marta Gomez Anaya

Antonio Berton-Lowres

Number of Students

118

According to the United Nations Population Division, China has entered

the “rapidly aging population” growth stage, and the number of individuals

over 65 will reach 200 million in 2025 and exceed 300 million in

2050. However, as the recent Colliers International report states, the

current stock of senior housing in China is limited in both total units and

variety. As a consequence, in the next few years, China will face a considerable

challenge in the construction of buildings that can address and

facilitate the needs of growing numbers of senior citizens. In response

to this situation China is therefore planning to expand their elderly care

and to build a wide range of new nursing homes.

While cultural traditions and economic motives influence current attempts

to create large-scale multi-generational mini-cities, this ARC102

studio explores and examines the relation between advanced age and

architectural scale/lay-out as a small-scale design exercise. Departing

from a detailed analysis of and research into existing senior housing

precedents (contemporary and historical case-studies from Europe), the

studio asks students to re-imagine and adapt the underlying architectural,

spatial and material principles, supported by site analysis, to a given

site in the Suzhou Industrial Park area.

For the ARC102-studio, the inhabitants of the future senior housing

project represent a new generation of elderly for whom independence,

self-reliance (both individual and communal) and quality of life are

central conditions of daily life. Within this context the studio deals with

the human scale in senior housing. Students are asked to design a 6 to

8 unit senior housing environment (with complementary public, social

and healthcare facilities) modeled through interpretations and adaptations

of existing (contemporary and historical) European, American and

Japanese precedents. The final project inhabits an area of approximately

500 to 800 square metres, with individual housing units varying in size

between 40 and 60 square meters with the inclusion of shared outside

space and communal programme, divided over 1 or 2 levels on a rather

small plot.

Level 01 – Year 2


57

58



Hao Shuyi | 郝姝仪


Gao Hanzhi | 高含之

59

60



Xia Jianqiang | 夏坚强

61

62



Li Jinghong | 李静虹

THE ENDLESS HOUSE

Jiang Yaxin | 姜亚昕

63

64

LEVEL

02


02

In Year 3 students pursue design projects in studio modules that

require the integration of a more complex range of contextual parameters

on the basis of a coherent design process. Students continue to

learn about building technology and the history and theory of architecture

and urban developments.

● ARC201 Environmental Design and Sustainability (5 credits)

● ARC202 Structural Design (5 credits)

● ARC203 History of Asian Architecture (5 credits)

● ARC204 Design Studio: Small Urban Buildings (10 credits)

● ARC205 Design Studio: Design and Building Typology (10 credits)

● ARC206 Urban Studies (5 credits)

B Eng Architecture


65

66

ARC203

History of Asian Architecture


Visit to San-He House by Wang Shu,

2003, at the Sifang Art Musuem, Nanjing.

Photograph by Milan Ognjanovic.

Class Photo in Front of The Great Hall,

Nanjing University.

Photograph by Milan Ognjanovic.

Level 2


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Yiping Dong

Teaching Team

Yiping Dong

Glen Wash

Christiane Margerita Herr

Austin Williams

Jiawen Han

Guest Speakers

Dr. Raffaele Pernice

( UPD )

Dr. Leng Tian

( Nanjing University )

Prof. Wang Xiaoqian

( South East University )

Number of Students

55

History of Asian Architecture provides an introduction to architectural

history in Asia, from ancient times to the present day. The history

of built architectural form is introduced with selected references to

associated theoretical discourses. Cultural and philosophical background

is introduced in order to explain the specific characteristics of Asian

architecture. The module focuses on Chinese architectural traditions,

and includes some additional materials on the wider Asian architectural

context such as Indian and Japanese architecture. The module also briefly

introduces students to the history of urban design and to key concepts

of Asian town planning.

The module uses lectures and readings, case studies and field trips to

explain key developments in Asian architectural and urban history.

Through study trips, students apply and present specific methods of

building survey and documentation. Essays test individual learning and

presentational skills, with drawing exercises assisting students to form

a visual memory of architecture. An examination tests their learning

and invites students to articulate their understanding of the historical

environment.

After undertaking this module, students will be able to recognize and

identify main periods and principal features of Asian architecture and

urban development, with a focus on China. Knowledge gained from their

study of Asian built forms will also lead to a greater understanding of the

influence of architectural history and theory on the spatial, social and

technological aspects of architecture.

Level 02 – Year 3


67

68

ARC206

Urban Studies


Level 2


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Austin Rhys Williams

Teaching Team

Ganna Adrianova

Aleksandra Raonic

Glen Wash

Lina Stergiou

Tordis Berstrand

Number of Students

55

The module provides students with a basic understanding of Urban Design

including some of the key debates, terms, writings, ideas and spatial and

social qualities about urban formation. We address some theories and

practical examples of city development - including global case studies -

to indicate how urban planning and architectural decisions can be better

informed. The module should help students understand the city as a

dynamic, social system.

It is a module that intends to stimulate students' creative engagement

with their surroundings as well their ability to assess, appraise and

critique various urban and cultural phenomena. Students will be encouraged

to read a variety of journals, books and academic papers. They must

be ready to think, formulate their opinions, and argue for their ideas.

The module will be conducted as a series of lectures exploring the history

of urban ideas, including sociology, urban theory and historical context.

Over the course of the semester we will touch on planning policy in East

and West for practical applications, explore several examples within

China, but also look to formative moments in Western urban design. The

module covers examples from Beijing to Barcelona, Chicago to Chandigarh,

Tokyo to Tianjin. We regularly utilise XJTLU's international staff

to provide first-hand evidence about the cities in question.

The module is made up of weekly lectures and seminars to explore a

range of ideas. The module seeks to raise students’ awareness of a variety

of urban forms - their benefits and drawbacks - and to encourage them to

cultivate opinions about the nature of cities, the formation and transformation

of their urban forms and to obtain basic urban design skills. It is a

critical forum that seeks to get the students to think about what they think.

Level 02 – Year 3


69

70

ARC201

Environmental Design and

Sustainability


Integrated Low Exergy Building Systems

Combined with Ground and Solar Thermal

Source Heat Exchangers.

Image Source: Chair of Building Systems in

ETH Zurich.

Low Exergy Building System Concepts

for Zero Emission Architecture.

Image Source: Chair of Building

Systems in ETH Zurich.

Level 2


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Moon Keun Kim

Number of Students

55

This module engages students with a wider understanding of how various

environmental and human factors interact and influence building design.

It focuses on the qualitative understanding of different building environmental

designs and advanced building system design strategies through

the learning of various sustainable building concepts and technologies

and how these are applied in architectural design through case studies.

Students learn: climate change and global warming impacts on buildings;

the site conditions that are relevant to the principle of sustainability;

urban heat island effect; advanced passive cooling, and heating technologies;

advanced heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; green

building technologies; renewable energy systems; lighting and acoustical

design in buildings; advanced thermodynamics and heat transfer; low

exergy technologies (super insulation, high temperature cooling and low

temperature heating, hybrid radiant cooling and heating system, CO2

capture device and energy saving, advanced geothermal heat pump

system, hybrid solar panel system, decentralized ventilation system) and

zero emission architecture;

In a case study, students design a window or a set of windows for occupant

well-being. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding

of different functions of a window and experiment with design strategies

that can deliver these functions. The case study exemplifies bioclimatic

design principles (daylight and solar shading) and integrates facade design

within the precepts of sustainable building design.

Upon completion of this module, students are able to develop methods of

implementing environmentally responsive approaches to building design.

Level 02 – Year 3


71

72

ARC202

Structural Design


Level 2


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Christiane M. Herr

Number of Students

49

In the context of architectural designing, structural design describes the

conception and articulation of building structures that integrate architectural

qualities with structural requirements. This module provides

students with an understanding of different types of structural systems

and their potential to support and enhance given architectural intentions.

In this module, structural design is approached primarily through visual

means architecture students can easily relate to, focusing on the integration

of structural and programmatic patterns, scales and proportions

in structural layouts. Throughout this module, lectures are accompanied

by applied structural design exercises during seminar classes. As part of

these exercises, students produce a series of structural design proposals

addressing a variety of structural types and scales. In addition, students

participate in a bridge design competition that requires students to design,

build and test bridge models for their structural performance.

The module also includes construction site visits as well as guest lectures

/ reviews by internal and external engineers and architects. As part

of an ongoing cooperation with JAE (Jiang Architects and Engineers,

Shanghai) students are offered guest lectures as well as professional

reviews of their structural design proposals on campus as well as in the

Shanghai office of the company.

Level 02 – Year 3


73

74

ARC205

Design Studio

Design and Building Typology


Level 2


Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Aleksandra Raonic

Teaching Team

Ganna Andrianova

Yiping Dong

Edward Farrell

Austin Williams

Number of Students

55

Guest Critics

Lin Bing

( OLI Architecture

Shanghai | New York )

Living in a Dense City: High-Density Living =

High-Quality Living

This studio asks students to generate new models and typologies for collective

housing for people that are currently being relocated from their

original living environments (rural or suburban areas) to the city. In

short, it calls for new models of Relocation Housing, set on a site located

on the south side of the dense and vibrant old Suzhou centre.

The studio brief is user-focused, and anticipates a user-driven design

process that requires the students to clearly define a user group typology,

according to which different relocation housing types will be developed

to fit the users’ specific needs. A detailed portrayal of users, their activities,

needs and desires will help envision scenarios which can be both

visionary and realistic.

Students begin with the development of a ‘basic living unit’ that can be

adapted to a variety of different users’ demands and living scenarios.

Using different spatial operations (multiplying, clustering, scaling), students

achieve variability of spatial configurations on both architectural

scale as on the scale of an urban block configuration. By operating on a

range of scales, while exploiting issues of grounding, verticality and site

constraints, students are able to achieve higher levels of programmatic

and social diversity, and to test issues of proximity, accessibility, light,

and connectivity on a single unit as well as on the larger number of units

(assemblies), or on parts of the block configuration.

This studio invites students to use experimental and innovative design

approaches in developing new models for high-quality, high-density

living in a relocation housing development that successfully negotiates

between collective and individual interests, between public and private.

Final designs seek to offer a new urban form that has the capacity to

catalyse vibrant and exciting opportunities for dense and intensive city

life in a contemporary Chinese context.

Level 02 – Year 3


75

76

Living in a Dense City

Li Shaokang | 李少康


77

78



Wu Hao | 吴昊

79

80



Ding Xiao | 丁笑

81

82



Shao Fuwei | 邵富伟

83


84 Yang Shihao | 杨世豪


85

86

Wu Hao

Study Model

ARC204

Design Studio

Small Urban Buildings


Level 2


Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Ganna Andrianova

Teaching Team

Aleksandra Raonic

Austin Williams

Lina Stergiou

Jose Angel Hidalgo Arellano

Number of Students

50

Creative Hub. / Co-working Space in Suzhou

Increasingly people today are not bound to work in traditionally structured

office settings, but are free to work anywhere as a result of contemporary

forms of digital communication and new technologies. This

newfound freedom, however, often results in isolation, along with an

inability to build trust and relationships with others, with restricted

opportunities for collaboration and networking. One emerging solution

to these drawbacks is co-working spaces: communal offices used by

freelancers, start-uppers, digital nomads and remote workers which

can be hired for flexible periods of time with varying fees. Co-working

environments provide the necessary infrastructures for efficient work

to take place and have the potential to offer a strong sense of community,

with participation, however, not necessarily compulsory. Co-working

spaces are, as a consequence, becoming increasingly popular work-place

options worldwide, not only in western nations, but also in China.

Set on the site of an existing wedding dress factory, slated for demolition,

located close to Shantang Street in Old Suzhou, this design studio offers

students the opportunity to develop a co-working space in an historical

urban context, responding not only to the brief but to its site-specific

conditions, with an emphasis on developing strategies for the re-use of

existing industrial buildings.

The design studio is a continuation of the International Architecture

Workshop ‘Urban Conservation and Tourism along Shantang River’, held

in February 2016 with students encouraged to engage with the ideas that

were developed during the course of the workshop.

Level 02 – Year 3


87

88


Shao Fuwei | 邵富伟

89

90


Chen Yukun | 陈玉坤

91

92


Li Shaokang | 李少康

93

94


Shi Haoyu | 石浩宇

95

96


Ding Xiao | 丁笑

97

98

LEVEL

03


03

In their final year, students demonstrate an understanding of the

complexity of architectural design processes from initial concepts to

the design of buildings, taking into account human needs and desires as

well as structural, material and environmental considerations. Modules

on digital design and building technology, theory, aesthetics, and

professional practice are designed to support the studio tasks. In Year

4 students have the opportunity to select their studio projects from a

series of parallel briefs.

● ARC301 Architectural Technology (5 credits)

● ARC303 Architectural Theory (5 credits)

● ARC304 Design Studio: Final Year Project (10 credits)

● ARC305 Design Studio: Small and Medium Scale Buildings

(10 credits)

● ARC306 Professional Practice (5 credits)

● ARC308 Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics (5 credits)

B Eng Architecture


99

100

ARC301

Architectural Technology


Level 3


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Theodoros Dounas

Number of Students

47

Technology contributes to the autonomy of architecture as a discipline.

It defines and shapes the field through its capacity to bring into effect

the next generation of building performance. Stemming from a deep

understanding of past and current buildings, architectural technology

is defined as both an outcome and a process, and thus negates perceived

boundaries between digital design and our physical understanding and

experience of the world. Understood as an agent of change and as an

enabler of design ideas, technology provides the link between design

and production, research and development, and, design exploits and

social ambitions. Seen through the lens of human capital and potential

in the built environment, architectural technology has the potential to

erase the boundaries between dream and reality, between drawings and

construction. Considered in this way, architectural technology needs be

understood as necessary to the full realisation of human ability rather

than a constraint, in both processes and output.

This module aims to give students an overview of the significance of architectural

technology, from the design of simple small-scale structures, to

highly ordered views of project coordination, to the architect as a maker

of tools and an inventor of new, innovative, architectural technology.

Level 03 – Year 4


101

102

ARC303

Architectural Theory


General Post Office Building

in Shanghai

by Stewardson & Spence,

1922-1924.

Photograph by Christian Gänshirt.

Level 3


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Christian Gänshirt

Teaching Team

Jiawen Han

Guest Lecturer

Edoardo Piccoli

Number of Students

47

Architectural Theory critically reflects on written discourses in and

about architecture. A series of lectures, accompanied by weekly readings

and alternating between a Chinese and a European point of view,

introduce the students to the main concepts of architectural theory, and

provide a framework for the understanding of on-going discourses in the

field. The themes and topics of the lectures address historical debates, including

the role and development of theory in architecture, the question

of style, and the historical foundations of modernity, and also encompass

areas such as criticism of high modernism, the rise of postmodern and

post-structural theory, critical regionalism and architectural criticism,

as well as to contemporary discourses, and the mutual influence of Asian

and Western concepts of architecture.

Further areas of dialogue and debate respond to interest articulated by

students and/or faculty members. Two research seminars accompany

the lectures, of which the students chose one, with the themes and

topics varying from year to year. The main task in the seminars is for

the students to conduct their own research within the given thematic

framework, to present and discuss their individual research in one of the

seminar sessions, and to eventually write and submit an essay on their

chosen topic. To enhance their research and academic writing skills, the

students receive in-class instructions, individual tutorials, as well as lectures

and continuous support from the language centre. A final written

exam stimulates the students to rethink what they have learned throughout

this course.

Level 03 – Year 4


103

104

ARC306

Professional Practice


Site Visit to the South Campus

under Construction

Photograph by Edward Farrell

Level 3


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Edward Farrell

Guest Speakers

Don Pak

( Business School )

Wang Tao

( BDP architects )

Dr. Christiane M. Herr

Dr. Jiawen Han

Austin Williams

Number of Students

48

Professional Practice in architecture introduces Level 3 students to the

management of architectural practice, the role of the architect as a professional

and the role of the architect in the construction industry and

the built environments of China and the West. It provides students with

background into the management of professional practices, the management

of design projects and design teams, and the management of staff.

It sets out the duties and responsibilities of architects to clients, staff and

the public. Students develop an awareness of how architecture practices

operate. They understand how buildings are designed and built in the

context of architectural and professional best practice and the framework

of the construction industry within which it operates. Building

users’ needs, legislation and performance standards all form part of the

learning process.

The module familiarises students with forms of procurement and contract

types and sets out the role that architects play in dealing with contractual

matters. An understanding of health and safety requirements

both at design and construction stages also forms part of the syllabus.

Students are introduced to the organisations, regulations and procedures

for negotiating architectural designs, land law, development control,

and building control. Students develop an understanding of cost control

mechanisms and an awareness and understanding of the principle of

whole life costing. Principles of behavior, ethics and codes of practice for

architects also form part of the module.

Level 03 – Year 4


105

106

ARC308

Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics


Field Trip to the Bernard Tschumi

and Datong Dazhang exhibitions at

the Power Station of Art, 2016.

Photograph by Claudia Westermann.

Level 3


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Claudia Westermann

Teaching Team

Tordis Berstrand

Number of Students

48

Philosophy of Art Aesthetics provides an introduction to the wider cultural

framework that forms the basis for architecture and architectural design.

It introduces critical reflections at the border of architectural discourse,

from both East and West, in order to facilitate a better understanding of

cultural contexts and their influence on positions and expressions in the

fine arts and architecture. Students demonstrate their understanding of

how philosophy, art, and architecture mutually influence each other in

short coursework exercises related to the seminar discussions, as well

as in an essay, which offers an optional link to the Final Year Project

studio project.

This year’s course responded to the theme ‘Art, Architecture and the

Poetics of the Living Rule’ with a specifically designed series of lectures

and seminars, addressing notions of living rules in art, design and

architecture. Philosophical writings, reflecting the theme in an explicit

or implicit way, were given as reading assignments and discussed in the

seminars in relation to selected works of art, such as paintings, installations,

films, poetry and other forms of creative writing, but also to works

generally categorised as design. An excursion to the Bernard Tschumi

and Datong Dazhang exhibitions at the Power Station of Art offered an

additional opportunity for reflection particularly on contemporary

positions.

Level 03 – Year 4


107

108

ARC305

Design Studio

Small and Medium Scale Buildings


Site Analysis by JIN Tian

Level 3


Module Credits

10

Module Coordinator

Claudia Westermann

Teaching Team

Li-An Tsien

Glen Wash

Lina Stergiou

Number of Students

48

During recent decades, China has undergone incredible transformations.

It has re-inscribed itself into the world’s attention through the creation

of new superlatives. Both the speed of the urbanization process in China

and the size of its new developments are unprecedented; and not surprisingly,

skyscrapers have become increasingly taller and have never

been so high. China has successfully managed to create a narrative of

power through projects of urban design and architecture. The tensions

that the big ubiquitous narrative creates are felt strongly in the historical

part of the city of Shanghai. The Old City’s apparently unresolved

relation to the new city raises many questions - about urbanity, about

density, affordable living conditions, about how a city might be able to

continuously integrate enormous numbers of migrants.

Shanghai’s Old City provided the framework for this design studio, offering

opportunities to rethink the future of Shanghai in relation to its past,

and to think new possibilities for urbanity and density. Four different

briefs each took a different approach to the questions that the Old City is

confronted with, and with it Shanghai as a whole.

Level 03 – Year 4


109

110


Zhang Yanzhe | 张艳喆

111

Sun Chenxing | 孙晨星

112


113

114


Zhang Rongfeng | 张榕峰

Duan Yawen | 段雅文

115

116


TEN Stanislav

JIN Tian | 金恬

117

118

ARC304

Design Studio

Final Year Project


Level 3

( Year 4 | Semester 1 and 2 )

Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Glen Wash Ivanovic

Teaching Team

Jiawen Han

Pierre Alain Croset

Yiping Dong

Tordis Berstrand

Aleksandra Raonic

Claudia Westermann

Christiane Herr

Thomas Fischer

Edward Farrell

Number of Students

50

The Final Year Project Studio is set to ensure a diversity of approaches

to Architectural Design, allowing for parallel briefs, and briefs defined to

a greater extent by the students themselves. The five briefs written for

this year’s final year studio respond in various ways to the challenges

that Architecture is confronted with in China and beyond. They open

a conversation on Architecture that is to be reframed and redefined by

the students in the course of their research and design process.

The five individual briefs deal with issues including aging society, urban

regeneration, non-standard social architecture, urban-rural boundaries

and urban transitions. They invite students to design buildings that respond

to specific urban and socio-cultural conditions while at the same

time paying attention to human needs and desires. On the basis of their

proposal and in connection with a coherent design process, students

need to demonstrate their understanding of architecture as informed by

inter-dependent cultural, historical, technological and contextual issues.

Level 03 – Year 4


119

120


Bian Zhifan | 卞之凡

121

122

Sun Chenxing | 孙晨星


123

124


You Jie | 游洁

125

126


Ni Yunqian | 倪韵倩

127

128


RIGON Marcus

129

130


Shen Yue | 沈越

131

132


JIN Tian | 金恬

133

134

The Master of Architectural Design (MArchDes) is a 2-year, full

time, professional postgraduate programme, designed to deliver

learning outcomes as defined by the General Criteria and the Graduate

Attributes to qualify for RIBA Part 2 validation. It prepares

students for two main purposes: to work as fully qualified professional

architects; and/or as independent researchers, enabling them

to undertake further post-graduate studies. Upon successful completion,

an international Master of Architectural Design (MArch-

Des) degree is awarded from the University of Liverpool, United

Kingdom. On 7 December 2016, the programme was awarded RIBA

Part 2 Candidate Status, with the programme also registered with

and recognised by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE).


M ARCHITECTURAL

DESIGN

PROGRAMME

INTRODUCTION

The MArchDes programme reflects the unique situation of our

university, which is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

Classes are delivered by predominantly international (rather than

Chinese or British) educators and are conducted in English to British

university standards and in accord with their procedures. Here,

we are searching for innovative ways of balancing the conditions

of a globalised economy against the constraints of individual, local,

and regional realities. The Department’s special location stimulates

students, as well as faculty members, to critically review the ideas

and habits, values and ideologies that shape our professional identities.

Embracing diversity as a key value, and developing a dynamic

and supportive studio culture is crucial for us. The education we

offer has three main concerns: state-of-the-art technical skills and

knowledge; ample design practice; and a humanities-based education

that assists students in navigating between eastern and western

cultures in the development of their critical thinking skills.

The programme offers a progression pathway for architecture

graduates from the Department’s BEng programme, within the

same educational framework, and a closely-related approach to

pedagogy, which consolidates and builds upon previous learning.

It also attracts graduates from other architecture schools in China,

and from overseas. From a more global perspective, the programme

offers graduate students from the United Kingdom, as well as other

English-speaking countries with similar architectural qualification

systems a unique opportunity to learn about contemporary China,

with language and cultural barriers largely mitigated. It prepares

international students for a career-start in China, while it provides

local students with opportunities for national as well as international

careers.

Our MArchDes programme, however, does not simply mirror the

MArch programme offered by the University of Liverpool, but rather

covers the same list of RIBA criteria, and has similar learning

outcomes. Special care has been taken to ensure equivalent learning

135

136

outcomes in Semester 3, in order to facilitate student exchanges

with the MArch programme at the University of Liverpool upon the

full validation of the course.


Similar to many professional MArch programmes in Europe, the

design studio is central to the department’s teaching practices, and

encourages critical enquiry in the form of analysis, reflection and

speculation. Learning-by-doing and learning-by-thinking lie at the

core of the curriculum with 50% of the teaching and learning time

devoted to architectural studios. Studio teaching is provided in

small groups on the basis of structured briefs. Through individual

projects, students are led through the learning experience, which

spans from conceptual, theoretical and historical research along

with site analyses in the earlier stages of their studies, to a highly-resolved

architectural proposition at the end of their degree. As

students advance through their studies, the increase in complexity

is accompanied by greater choice in studio briefs. In Year 2, and

especially in the Final Thesis Project, students develop their own

studio briefs, aligned with research interests and expertise of their

chosen tutors.

A special feature of our programme is a strong stream of modules

in the humanities, including theory, history, and scholarly research.

This continues the basic structure of our undergraduate programme,

which we believe is crucial in fostering cross-cultural awareness

and understanding. Over the five years of architectural education,

students are lead towards increasing levels of individual choice and

responsibility.

On successful completion graduates will possess advanced skills and

demonstrate independence of thought which allows them to tackle

contemporary built-environment problems through intellectual

analysis, considered assessment and design decision-making.

Christian Gänshirt

2014-2016 Programme Director

137

138

LEVEL

04


04

The first year of the Master's programme focuses on design and practice,

with the second on design and research. A special feature of our

programme is a strong stream of modules in the humanities, with an

emphasis on theory, history, and research. This continues the basic

structure of our undergraduate programme, which is crucial in fostering

cross-cultural awareness and understanding. Over the five years of

architectural education, students assume increasing levels of individual

choice and responsibility, culminating in the last year of the Master's

programme. Here they choose their individual design studio tutors and

together with them develop their own research and project briefs.

●

●

●

●

●

●

Year 1 (Semester 1)

ARC403 Applied Technology in Architecture (5 credits)

ARC405 Design Studio I (10 credits)

ARC407 Architectural Theory and Criticism (5 credits)


Year 1 (Semester 2)

ARC402 Advanced Professional Practice (5 credits)

ARC404 Design Studio II (10 credits)

ARC406 Topics in Architectural History (5 credits)


M Arch Des


139

140

ARC403

Applied Technology in Architecture


From Xiaohan Chen,

Technological Aspects of the Waterdrop

( studio project ), 2016

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Thomas Fischer

Number of Students

9

ARC403 introduces the mutually-challenging relationships between

architecture and advanced technology which have characterised architecture

and construction throughout history. It examines and explores

architectural case studies that demonstrate technological innovation, as

well as case studies of advanced technology applications in the design,

representation, evaluation, project management, construction and

operation of architectural projects. The module is taught in a variety of

teaching modes, including lectures, seminars, workshops and group tutorials.

Visits to local construction sites are arranged subject to availability.

This year’s theme is the medium-rise tower. The module focuses on the

integration of architectural and technological concerns in two interrelated

ways; firstly through a focus on the schematic design of a medium-rise

tower with a load-bearing façade; and secondly, by extending

the scope of the conceptual design by integrating façade technology and

considerations of environmental impact and occupant comfort into

the design.

The module invites students to engage with a wide range of technologies

and technological considerations in the design, construction and use of

buildings. Learning takes place in seminar and small lecture settings,

with discussions, readings and exercise assignments.

Level 04 – Year 1

M Arch Des Programme

141

142

ARC407

Architectural Theory and Criticism


The London Sky Framed by Yona Friedman -

Hyde Park, 2016.

Photograph by Tordis Berstrand.

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Andrew Johnson

Number of Students

9

The module introduces central themes in architectural theory and

criticism informed by current debates within and beyond the discipline.

Framed as challenges confronting contemporary society on a

global scale, these are issues of the present that call upon architects

to respond and act. If this is not simply a call to build and make, it is

an invitation to think, again, about the critical potential of built and

imagined environments.

With an eye to the global and Asian context of XJTLU, the module pursues

the intersection of architectural thinking and practice as a space

where students come to critically examine their own work. They do so

for the purpose of positioning themselves as future practitioners and to

deepen their appreciation of theory and writing as active tools in the

design process. Above all, they strengthen their ability to articulate a

theoretical argument in a consistent manner as an integral part of the

architect’s task.

Students reflect on a series of reading assignments in weekly coursework

submitted for grading and eventually marking in revised form. In-class

discussions, exercises, and presentations build up the skills required for

the final essay submission, a draft of which is graded halfway through the

semester. Academic standards are observed across all submitted work,

and language teachers from the university’s Writing Centre contribute

with lectures and tutorials throughout. A final Folio submission eventually

concludes the module by compiling all material produced as a statement

of the individual student’s achievement and learning.

Level 04 – Year 1


143

144

ARC402

Advanced Professional Practice


The Gate of the Orient on the West bank of

Jinji Lake, Suzhou Industrial Park, 2015.

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Austin Rhys Williams

Number of Students

6

This module examines the practice of architecture as a complex form

of professional advocacy. The course introduces students to the basic

framework of building laws, building economics, procurement models

and professional ethics within the practice of architecture. The profession

of architecture is contextualized in its relationships to social,

economic and political backgrounds as they pertain to China and the

UK. However, this is a globally appropriate module and seeks to provide

students with a solid understanding of professional approaches and

behaviour. To this end, the module looks at the philosophical meaning of

professionalism, ethical practices, acceptable and reasonable behaviour,

moral duty and other universal ambitions of the professional.

We will read and discuss some philosophy - from Kant to J. S. Mill - but

will also explore a range of ideas from Confucian virtues to Contract law.

There will be weekly homework reading, discussion and writing and the

seminars will be conducted on the model of an Oxbridge tutorial; with

students reading homework out loud to encourage the others to critique

and develop the discussion. On the practical side, students are encouraged

to examine how buildings are planned, managed and constructed in

professional practice through individual research and through seminar

presentations and discussions allied to their design studio module. The

implications of various building codes and forms of practice on architectural

processes will also be discussed in a variety of formats, among

students, teaching staff and invited guests.

In 2016, the External Examiner wrote of this module: “There were some

very interesting, imaginative and current examples of the integration of

contemporary architecture into the coursework, whether as part of the

technical analysis, cultural studies and in professional practice. These

are exemplary and suggest that the school has taken care to design a

relevant and appropriate curriculum.”

Level 04 – Year 1


145

146

ARC406

Topics in Architectural History:

Modern Architecture as a

Transnational Discourse


Zaha Hadid, MAXXI,

Museum of 21st Century Art, Rome 2009, interior

[photo Paolo Scrivano]

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Paolo Scrivano

Teaching Team

Paolo Scrivano

Pierre-Alain Croset

Number of Students

6

In recent times, the field of history has been characterized by the growth

of studies adopting a “transnational” perspective, a phenomenon that has

touched on disciplines as diverse as the history of international relations,

the history of social policies, cultural history, migration history,

and intellectual history. This increasing interest reflects the mounting

consideration for a variety of phenomena that are often referred to as

globalization, a term which seems to have gained currency not only at

academic level but also in popular discourses.

The aim of the module was to start a discussion on the transnational

character of modern architecture and to verify to which extent the

paradigm of transnational history can be applied to modern architecture

as a historical subject. In doing so, the seminar considered a narrative

that covers the 20th century but that, at times, includes events that took

place during the 18th and 19th centuries. While the module was rooted in

history, it also addressed theoretical questions that are relevant within

the discourse of contemporary architecture, such as the effective impact

of transnational mobility on professions and building practices and the

actual applicability and sustainability of global notions of design.

Students were asked to read and respond to the referenced literature in

order to contribute to the discussions in class. They were also encouraged

to actively seek out and engage with historical evidence beyond

the brief’s bibliography, and to reflect on their own developing research

methodologies.

Level 04 – Year 1


147

148

ARC405

Design Studio 1

An Urban Vision for Xiang Men


The Design Studio in a visit of an old

traditional house in Pingjiang District.

The area in the famous Ping Jiang Map of

Suzhou ( 1229, Song Dynasty )

Level 4


Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Pierre-Alain Croset

Teaching Team

Pierre-Alain Croset

Andrew Johnston

Quanqing Lu

( teaching assistant )

Guest Reviewers

Marco Trisciuoglio

( Politecnico di Torino / Nanjing

SEU )

Lei Sun

( Planning Bureau of Gusu District,

Suzhou )

Li Bai

( Independent architect, Suzhou )

Number of Students

9

( 7 XJTLU + 2 visiting students from

Politecnico di Torino )

The challenge for this studio was to give urban and architectural form to

the redevelopment of the unique large empty space in the historic city of

Suzhou: Xiang Men Area at the eastern gate of the city, bounded on the

north by a UNESCO World Heritage Garden and the Suzhou Zoo; on the

east by the canal and the recently rebuilt Suzhou city wall; on the south

by Gan Jiang Street; and, on the west by the famous Ping Jiang Historical

District. Our partner in this studio was the China/Suzhou Institute of

Architectural Design (CSIAD), who had been invited to participate in an

urban design competition for the redevelopment of the area.

While the students needed to respect the parameters decreed by the

competition organisers (100.000 m2 to be built on an area of 125.000

m2, F.A.R. 0.8), they were, however, free to criticise the morphological

and stylistic prescriptions (maximal height of 3 floors and pitched roofs).

The studio was divided in three phases: 1- Analysis and Reflection on

the historic city (3 weeks), with site visits and exercises of urban morphology;

2- The Urban Design Plan (5 weeks), introduced by exercises on

the design of multi-functional porous urban blocks, and on the formation

of an artificial topography inspired by the traditional Suzhou gardens

(hills and water) and with the reuse of the excavated earth for the underground

parking; 3 Architectural and Urban Design (7 weeks) of one of

the three sectors of the Urban Design Plan.

The students explored innovative ways of interpreting the historical city

of Suzhou as a reference for new urban form. While no deference to stylistic

imitation was paid, the dense structure of courtyard houses, lanes

and canals was adopted in order to give a sense of place to the urban and

architectural composition.

Level 04 – Year 1


149

150


RIZZATO, Francesca

CHEN Xiaohan

151

Jason Kiun-Fat Chan Sip Siong

152


ZUCCOLO, Alessandro

153

154


SHANMUGAM, Sharvari

155

156

ARC404

Design Studio 2

Printed Space


Xiaohan Chen, Shasvari Shanmugam Subramaniam, Christian.Gaenshirt, Pierre-Alain-Croset, Caterina Tiazzoldi, Han

Baoshan, Jason Kiun-Fat, Chan Sip Siong, Alessandro Zuccolo

Panorama of the site by Alessandro Zuccolo

Level 1


Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Caterina Tiazzoldi

Guest Lecturer

Zhiyan Zhang

Number of Students

6

Printed Space is a research-driven design studio that explores architectural

potentialities and new forms of craftsmanship through the design

a religious building on Xandai Avenue, near Lake Dushu, Suzhou, via the

use of full-scale 3d printing, a contemporary tool that is currently used

in the design and construction industries.

Architecture and Building Technology have faced alternating synergistic

and competitive interaction in relationship to the culture of craftsmanship.

While both architecture and building technology have systematically

applied research and results derived from craft practices, they have

also historically claimed supremacy above the traditional crafts.

The architecture of religious buildings in particular has expanded the

expressive potential of new materials through the use of advanced technologies

resulting in a holistic synthesis between sacred architecture

and building technology.

Over the last 20 years, digital fabrication in the building industry has

witnessed the rapid integration of Computer Control Numerical tools. For

the first time in history, with thanks predominantly to the research of D.

Khoshnevis, new, innovative methods are now capable of generating processes

for the manufacturing of building components at a 1:1 architecture

scale. In light of these developments, the interrelationship between architectural

design manufacturing, transport logistics, material resources,

safety and environmental sustainability are well-disposed to be revisited.

The Printed Space studio engages students in design-based research

that explores the potential of rapid prototyping with a view to full-scale

3D printing technologies in the design of a new place of contemplation

and worship.

Level 04 – Year 1


157

158


Chan Yook Fo Brian

Chan Sip Siong Jason

159

160


Chen Xiaohan

161

162

Chen Weiwei

Alessandro Zuccolo


163

164

ALA



Reconstruded historical brick kiln

Imperial Kiln Museum, Suzhou

Level 4

( Year 1+2 )

Module Credits

0

Hours

200 / Semester

Coordinator

Christian Gänshirt

All Master programmes in our university require 200 hours of Additional

Learning Activities (ALAs) to be undertaken each semester, the

majority of which are chosen by the students. These allow our students

to address their individual learning needs whilst contributing to the

community beyond the confines of the university. Some of these activities

must be undertaken during teaching periods, while others can be

pursued over the winter and summer breaks. At the beginning of their

studies, students with their individual Academic Advisors plan their

ALAs for the whole two years of the programme; this plan is then updated

at the beginning of each semester.

ALAs do not contribute to the marks of the students, but are assessed

on a pass/fail basis and are therefore non-credit bearing. The learning

activities students may choose include English, Spanish and Chinese

language and culture modules, personal and career development courses,

independent studies with a tutor, teaching and research assistantships,

select Level 3 and 4 modules, internships with architecture firms,

study trips, as well as a series of ALAs which accompany and support the

design studio modules.

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

Postgraduate English (mandatory, if required by the programme director)

Postgraduate Spanish

Chinese language (mandatory for international students)

Chinese culture (mandatory for international students)

Graduate teaching assistantship

Graduate research assistantship

Graduate practice placement/internship

Participation in Level 3 or 4 lecture based modules in the built environment

cluster

Participation in Level 3 or 4 modules from other XJTLU departments

or the Language Centre

Selected topics in design tools and methods

Selected topics in advanced digital design

Selected topics in architectural research methods

Selected topics in architectural representation

Independent studies with an architecture tutor

Scholarly presentation of a research paper

Publication of a paper in a peer-reviewed architecture-related journal

Personal and employability skills

Level 04 – Year 1+2


165

166

LEVEL

04


04

In the fifth and final year of architecture studies at XJTLU, the focus is

on strengthening the abilities of the students to develop their individual

approach to architectural research and design, and communicate

research outcomes and architectural proposals based on critical engagement

with a given framework. Through a coherent design and research

process, the work produced is informed by the evaluation of theoretical

concepts, the consideration of context, regulations and user requirements,

as well as the integration of technical knowledge. The design

studio aims at the development of design tools and strategies that will be

investigated and developed further in the subsequent thesis project and

thesis dissertation to be produced in the concluding Design Studio 4.

Year 2 (Semester 1)

● ARC409 Architectural Design and Research Methods (5 credits)

● ARC411 Practice-Based Enquiry and Architectural Representation

(5 credits)

● ARC413 Design Studio III (10credits)

Year 2 (Semester 2)

● ARC408 Written Thesis (5 credits)

● ARC410 Design Studio. IV / Thesis Project (15 credits)

M Arch Des


167

168

ARC409

Architectural Design and Research

Methods


Reconstruded historical brick kiln

Imperial Kiln Museum, Suzhou

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Paolo Scrivano

Number of Students

6

In this module, students conduct research as part of their own thesis

project. Each student produces a thesis prospectus, engaging questions in

the practice and theory of architecture. In the prospectus, students propose

a thesis question, explore and demonstrate their command of the

appropriate bodies of architectural research, and identify and develop a

specific set of theories and methods appropriate to their research work.

The module runs in parallel to Design Studio 3 and prepares students to

the development and completion of the design and written components

of their thesis in Semester 4.

This subject will be offered in the 2016-2017 Academic Year.

Level 04 – Year 2


169

170

ARC411

Practice Based Enquiry and

Architectural Representation


XJTLU South Campus under Construction

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Claudia Westermann

Teaching Team

Aleksandra Raonic

Number of Students

6

The module introduces advanced practice-based methodologies in critical

creative problem solving and communication. Students are encouraged

to explore a range of different art practices.

Through re-presentation of architectural projects and through shifting

between different media – such as drawings, models, video, sculpture,

interactive digital media, installation art – the students learn new ways

to identify questions, how to address them, and how to communicate to

audiences that have differing understandings of what architecture is or

could be, including audiences that are not trained in reading architectural

plans and models. They are guided to critically and creatively engage

with the presented concepts in a consistent manner.

The course also aims at initiating reflections on differences and commonalities

between Chinese/Asian and Western aesthetic positions, so

as to facilitate a better understanding of a cultural context's influence on

positions and expressions in architecture and its relation to questions of

representation.

Texts reflecting thoughts on practice-based knowledge, on art, design

and architecture are read, and discussed in weekly seminars in relation

to works of architecture and design, films, examples of creative writing,

and artworks - such as paintings, sculpture, installations, and performance

works, and introduce critical engagement with ways of knowing

through practice.

Through a series of exercises in the remaking and translation of Architecture,

students engage with questions of experience, and of documentation

and presentation of spatial principles, as well as with the practices

and theories of practice that are discussed in the weekly seminars. They

learn to understand this engagement as a form of critical enquiry into

architectural practices of presentation and representation.


Level 04 – Year 2


171

172

ARC408

Thesis Dissertation


Imperial Brick Museum, Suzhou, by architect Liu Jiakun

Level 4


Module Credits

5

Module Leader

Paolo Scrivano

Teaching Team

Pierre-Alain Croset

Christiane M. Herr

Glen Wash

Number of Students

6

In this module, students develop and complete the writing component

of their Masters thesis, conducting and documenting a research project

in the field of design research. Departing from research questions

developed in the previous module ARC409 ‘Architectural Design and

Research Methods’, students produce a written document that explains

their design thesis’ principles thus lending theoretical support to their

design project. The module runs parallel with Design Studio 4 with individual

students given feedback on the preparation of the thesis’ written

component in conjunction with group seminars focusing on their design

in a studio setting.


Level 04 – Year 2


173

174

ARC413

Design Studio 3

Individual Briefs


Shavari SHANMUGAM, Masters Student, Visiting Critic Adam Brillhart

Level 4


Module Credits

10

Module Leader

Christian Gänshirt

Teaching Team

Pierre-Alain Croset

Christiane M. Herr

Glen Wash

Number of Students

6

For this design studio module, students are given the opportunity to

develop a design brief in an area of architectural enquiry in which they

are interested. This framework ensures a diversity of approaches allowing

students greater freedom in defining their methods of learning and

their approaches to architectural design. Over the summer break, they

define the scope and topic of their projects in close cooperation with

their individual tutors chosen at the end of the previous academic year.

Over the autumn semester, the project is then developed in the usual

studio setting supported by in-class presentations, group and individual

tutorials, and seminar talks. Students are guided to develop design tools

and processes that allow them to explore their topics critically and indepth,

informing their design project, and initiating the thesis process

that continues during the final semester of the Master programme.

Close connections with the other two modules in the semester support

and inform the student’s enquiries: ARC411 Practice Based Enquiry and

Architectural Representation focuses on the artistic side of the student’s

design work, and ARC409 Architectural Design and Research Methods

informs the theoretical and research aspects of the work. Students regularly

present their work for discussion in reviews to all tutors involved

in teaching this studio, to other faculty members, invited reviewers from

other schools, as well as practicing architects.

Note: This module has been taught for the first time in autumn 2016.

Level 04 – Year 2


175

176

ARC410

Design Studio 4

Individual Briefs


Material Library prepared for the Masters Thesis Exhibition

Level 4


Module Credits

15

Module Leader

Christian Gänshirt

Teaching Team

Pierre Alain Croset

Christiane M. Herr

Glen Wash

Number of Students

6

In architectural education the final design studio is of special importance.

Here the students are expected to demonstrate the full range of

skills and abilities they have acquired over the years of their studies

at university, as well as through internships and study trips. Now they

are presenting themselves as fully educated architects, putting forward

an architectural statement that expresses their personal interests and

marks their individual position in the field of architectural culture.

At this level, students are required to demonstrate self-reliance in

the framing of architectural problems and in the research required to

propose viable solutions to them. Building on the design and research

outcomes achieved in the previous semester, students address an individually

chosen design thesis project, resolving design and research challenges

identified in the thesis prospectus written at the end of Semester

3. The outcome is a self-contained thesis design project supported by a

thesis dissertation written in the parallel module ARC408. Effectively,

the work produced at this very special moment of life has two objectives:

it concludes and summarises years of study, and clearly addresses the

wider professional public, and enables a new voice to be heard for the

first time.


Level 04 – Year 2


177

178


PARALLEL

ACTIVITIES

179

180

SUZHOU INTERNATIONAL

ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP

Urban Conservation and Tourism along

Shantang River

February 21-28, 2016


Participants

University of Liverpool

( United Kingdom )

Andrew Crompton

Torsten Schmiedeknecht

9 students

Technical University Graz ( Austria )

Irmgard Frank

Claudia Gerhäusser

10 students

Politecnico di Torino ( Italy )

Mauro Berta

Matteo Robiglio

10 students

Xi’an Jiatong-Liverpool University,


Ganna Andrianova

José Àngel Hidalgo Arellano

Aleksandra Raonic

Lina Stergiou

Austin Williams

51 students

Coordinator

Pierre Alain Croset

Assistant

Li Bai ( Suzhou )

This workshop produced ideas and visions for the urban regeneration of

the fourth and final sector of Shantang River near Tiger Hill. Six architects

and twenty-nine students from three European Schools of Architecture

(University of Liverpool, TU Graz, and Politecnico di Torino),

along with five architects and forty-seven students from the Department

of Architecture at XJTLU, participated. Every instructor was responsible

for the development a specific “vision” for the site, and worked with an

international team of 7 to 8 students (1 from Liverpool, 1 from Graz, 1

from Torino, and 4 to 5 from Suzhou).

For the XJTLU students, all from the 3rd Year of the Bachelor in Architecture,

this short-term intensive experience proved to be very different

in comparison with normal design studios; not only in terms of the international

composition of the design teams, but also because they acted as

“local guides” for the foreign teachers and students, introducing them to

the specificities and nuances of Chinese cities and Chinese culture.

As the workshop ran for only one week, the schedule was demanding.

After a Welcome Event following the arrival of the foreign groups on

Sunday, an all-day tour along Shantang River enabled the participants

to undertake a complete survey of the site, in addition to visiting tourist

features, including Yuhan Hall and Tiger Hill on the Monday. The models

and drawings for the proposals were produced in 4 days, with an Interim

Review on the Wednesday, prior to the final exhibition and presentation

on Saturday afternoon.

As a result of the workshop, the Department of Architecture intends

to develop a critical dialogue with the Planning Bureau of the Central

District of Suzhou, discussing a number of important topics with an

emphasis on relationships between tourism, heritage, creative industries

and urban regeneration.

Pierre Alain Croset

Head of the Department of Architecture

Parallel Activities

181

182

TOUR TO ITALY


Visit to the Spanish Pavilion at the 15th Venice

Architecture Biennale.

Photograph by Huang Yifei.

Head of Department, Architecture, XJTLU, Pierre Alain

Croset in Conversation with Palladio Museum Director

Guido Beltramini and Students.

Photograph by Huang Yifei.

View of Dr. Stergiou students’ exhibition at E9,

Redtory Art & Design Factory, Guangzhou.

Tour Leader

Bert de Muynck

Tour Assistants

Lu Quanqing

Lin Qian

No. of Participants

26 students

Dates

25 June – 02 July 2016

From 25 June to 02 July 2016, a group of 26 XJTLU architecture students

[selected from YEAR 2 (6), 3 (8), 4 (11) and Masters (1) ] undertook a ten

day study trip to Italy (Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Vicenza, Venice). The

tour was organised by Bert de Muynck (Lecturer Department of Architecture

XJLTU) with logistical support provided by Lu Quanqing and Lin

Qian [both PhD candidates at XJTLU].

The tour offered the students the opportunity to visit both contemporary

and historical buildings in the aforementioned cities. Particular attention

was paid to the work of a number of architects including Andrea Palladio,

Carlo Scarpa, and Stefano Boeri as well as contemporary Italian architects,

with several UNESCO World Heritage Sites included.

Additional visits included “The Floating Piers” installation by Christo (in

Sulzano), the Prada Foundation (OMA/Rem Koolhaas), Palladio Museum

(in Vicenza, with a tour of the Museum led by the Museum Director

Guido Beltramini) and Milano Triennale (both in Milan), Crespi d’Adda

[UNESCO World Heritage site], Castelvecchio Museum [Verona], Palladio

Museum [Vicenza], Villa Malcontenta [in-between Vicenza-Venice]

and the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale. In Milan, the students

were taken on a tour through the inner city, the tour led by Professor

Juan-Carlos Dall’Asta.

The trip included a 3-day visit to Venice and the world-renowned 15th

Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Chilean architect and 2016

Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Araveno. Overall this tour was an

unique opportunity for the students to experience life in a foreign country

and to become familiar with some of its cities and their historic and

contemporary architecture.

Parallel Activities

183

184

RESEARCH TRIP TO THE

OLD PUGAO VILLAGE IN

YUNNAN PROVINCE,

CHINA


Principal Investigator

Glen Wash Ivanovic

Assistant

Hao JIANG

With the support of XJTLU’s Research Developing Fund, we visited the

old Pugao village in Yunnan province, where we surveyed some of its

unique characteristics while also recording patterns of occupation in the

village’s rice terraces.

Rice agriculture in China remains highly labour intensive. The crops

need to be manually transplanted into different pools during its agricultural

cycle. Industrialization of rice production is minimal, and still uses

traditional farming methods and large numbers of people, resulting in

significant migration of farmers during harvesting seasons. Pugao village

is perhaps one of the most representative examples of vernacular architecture

linked to rice agriculture.

The relationship of Pugao with its terraces is extremely intertwined

and cohesive; some terraces are located inside the village, creating very

unique openings and public spaces within the otherwise dense and narrow

village.

While this activity can be understood as ordinary farming, we also recognize

its unique architectural qualities, wherein concepts like rhythm

and appropriateness exemplify ideal relationships between environment

and activity.

In order to capture this relationship we recorded its characteristic by

taking time-lapse photos of different activities and parts of the terraces.

Then, using Activity Counter Maps we generated graphic visualisations

that allowed us to better understand the hidden patterns behind these

activities and to find relationships that could be applied to contemporary

architectural design.

Parallel Activities

185

186

FREESTYLE

BRIDGE DESIGN

COMPETITION


Level 2

( Study Year 3 )

Teaching Team

Christiane M. Herr

( Module coordinator )

Number of Students

49

The Freestyle Bridge Design Competition is an annual event conducted

as part of the module ARC202 (Structural Design). The competition gives

students an opportunity to experiment with complex structural systems

and a variety of self-chosen materials in the realisation of design ideas.

The competition task is to build a bridge model with clear span of 1.07m,

supported only at the ends. Bridges should be as lightweight as possible

while supporting a weight of 4.5kg placed at the centre of the bridge. As

in a real-life competition for bridges, models should not only perform

well in terms of load-bearing capacity, but also demonstrate innovative

ideas, concern for the pedestrian experience while crossing the bridge

and quality of details and general craftsmanship. To determine the

winning team, the competition integrates numerical performance evaluation

with a general qualitative assessment by guest reviewers from

the Departments of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Winning bridge

models must demonstrate good structural performance as well as good

integration of architectural ideas and structure. The competition has

been conducted for several years and is often described as a key learning

experience by participating students.

Part of ARC202

Parallel Activities

187

188

SUMMER

UNDERGRADUATE

RESEARCH FUND (SURF)


Level 1

( Study Year 2 )

Supervisor Team

Christiane M. Herr

Thomas Fischer

Pierre-Alain Croset

Number of Students

3

Advances in 3D printing technology have reached architectural scales

and materials, and SIP-based company Winsun ( 盈创 ) is establishing

itself as a global leader in this emerging research field. Taking a research-through-design

approach, and engaging Winsun as an industrial

partner, this project investigated the potential of 3D printing for online

parametric mass customisation of small concrete buildings to address

varying client needs and site contexts. The research was conducted jointly

by three undergraduate 2nd year students and the supervisors over

the course of the summer of 2015. Research findings include a suitable

form language for 3d printable small buildings, a set of structural design

and construction constraints, and a parametric customisation approach.

The project employed experimental programming, model making and

expert interviews to explore and evaluate possibilities of customising 3d

concrete printed buildings. It was conducted through alternating cycles

of design exploration and synthesis, informed by sketching, model making,

data collection and expert feedback focused on material, fabrication,

transportation and construction constraints, functional aspects, and

structural evaluation. 3D concrete printing is an emerging research area,

and currently in the early stages of its technological development. This

project extends the scope of previous research to investigate architectural

(functional, aesthetic, structural, economic) aspects of 3D printing

within the framework of parametric design. Findings resulting from this

project will be presented and published at the international conference

CAADRIA2017, held at XJTLU.

Parallel Activities

189

190

CARDBOARD

BRIDGES


Level 1


Module coordinator

Christiane M. Herr

Number of Students

109

The Cardboard Structures event is an annual event conducted as part

of the module ARC104 (Structures and Materials). It is the culmination

of students’ first attempt at building a life-size structure made primarily

from cardboard. This year, the task was to build structures able to bridge

a gap of 1.5 meters and support a load of at least 40kg – the weight of

an average 10-11 year old school child. Besides additional connection

materials such as screws, glue and string, the bridge structure must be

made entirely of cardboard. Students work in teams of four or five, and

collaborate on all stages of the design. The project is was run in cooperation

with Suzhou SIP Foreign Language School, with their primary-level

4 students performing both as ‘clients’ and eager test subjects. The bridge

design proceeds through a series of interim models and their review, including

a review of half scale prototypes at the collaborating school. The

final review takes place at XJTLU and consists of a playful load testing

by the school children. During the review, the children also voted for the

“2015 Cardboard Bridge Award” by attaching stickers to their favourite

bridge designs. In this process, architecture learn essential skills comprising

design work in teams, planning and execution of work, assembly

of 1:1 scale models as well as matching their design ideas with functional

requirements as well as the preferences of the users of their structures.

Part of ARC104, B Eng (Architectural Engineering)

Parallel Activities

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2015 ARCHITECTURE

STUDY TRIP TO

NANJING-WUXI


Level 1


Team Leader

Yiping Dong

Tutors

Yiping Dong

Edward Farrell

Aleksandra Raonic

Ganna Abdrianova

Quanqing Lu ( TA ).

Number of Students

52

During reading Week 26-30 October of Semester 1 2015/2016, the Year 3

students from the Department of Architecture took a five-day study trip

to Nanjing. The trip was designed to give the students a unique educational

experience by providing encounters the reality of Asian architecture

and the built environment from a broad-based perspective. The

trip followed the main themes of ARC203 and focused on ancient urban

planning and architecture in China as well as the period of modernization.

Students, consequently had the chance to observe the works of earlier

generations of architects such as Lv Yanzhi, Yang Tinbao, as well as

contemporary Chinese Architecture Masters, including Wu Liangyong,

Qi Kang, and younger architects’ projects such as Wangshu, Ai Weiwei

and Zhang Lei, as well as the works of famous western architects including

Zaha Hadid and Steven Holl and his recent project in Nanjing.

Nanjing is a typical historic city, containing a variety of urban planning

remains and heritage timber structures which date from the Ming and

Qing Dynasties. Students were thus able to understand the urban construction

activities and timber structural improvements, with learning

premised upon real world experience. Buddhist buildings, in particular

Pagodas and Temples, such as Qi’xa Monastery and Ji’ming Monastery,

while established during different Dynasties demonstrated Western

cultural influences which enabled Chinese Architecture history to be

understood in an Asian Context.

This study trip also gave the chance to enhance the understanding of

the ritual spaces in China, which include the Palace ruins of the Ming

Dynasty and Mausoleums and memorial spaces from different historical

periods in Nanjing. The early buildings in the campus started from1900s

and the Sun-Yen-san mausoleum area illustrated for students how the

question of “tradition and modernity” was considered in the Modernization

period in the former Capital of the Republic China.

Professor Wang Xiaoqian of the Architecture School, South East University,

and Dr. Leng Tian of the Architecture Department, Nanjing

University, gave two academic lectures to XJTLU Architecture students

and faculty members and were also provided with guided tours of two of

China’s most Architecture Schools.

Parallel Activities

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TIMBER

TRANSLATIONS

(Vertical Studio 2015/16)

April 18 - May 6


WSA Cardiff / Wales

A . Benjamin Spaeth

Wassim Jabi

Y1 and Y2 students

XJTLU Suzhou/China

Theodoros Dounas

Y1 and Y2 students

UAS Wiesbaden/Germany

Joachim Kieferle

XJTLU Student Participants

Kang Wenzhao

Yang Chaohui

Liu Bowei

Zhang Chenke

Wu Hao

Wang Liu

Zhu Runzi

Yu Yulin

Gao Hanzhi

This vertical studio is conceived as an international collaboration

between the Xi’an Jiaotong -Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou

/ China, the University of Applied Science (UASW) in Wiesbaden /

Germany and the Welsh School of architecture (WSA) in Cardiff. The 3

week English speaking studio took place at XJLTU and at WSA respectively

and accommodated students of WSA at XJTLU and students of

XJTLU and UASW at WSA.

In this vertical studio we explored traditional timber joints and their

potential to be transformed into contemporary design and fabrication

methods, with a research focus on Chinese and Welsh traditional timber

joints in order to understood the mechanics of these force-lock and

shape-lock connections. The principles formed the bases of parametric

models resulting in a series of developed designs which efficiently apply

them. The aim was to design a spatial structure which unleashes the

three dimensional potential of force-lock joints to create a temporary

space for the celebration of the final year exhibition of the Welsh School

of Architecture as well as the Department of Architecture at XJTLU and

the University of Applied Science in Wiesbaden. The spatial structure

was designed to accommodate the vernissage of the final year exhibition,

it forming part of the exhibition itself and its closing event. The structure

provided seating, a bar, tables, a stage for small performances. The

area covered did not exceed 50m² in total. The design concept premised

upon tectonic principles, and was therefore able to respond to the different

requirements of the respective sites at three different locations.

Parallel Activities

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196

INDEPENDENT &

INQUISITIVE

Recent Works & Ideas by Chinese

Architects | Fall 2015 Lecture Series


Convenor

Bert de Muynck

The Fall 2015 lecture series at the Department of Architecture at XJTLU

focused on introducing the cultural, architectural and professional backgrounds,

thought and works of a selection of independent and contemporary

Chinese architects.

Hailing from four distinct metropolises in China (Shanghai, Hangzhou,

Guangzhou and Shenzhen), the architects presented work that focuses on

the urban and architectural constraints they face while forging architectural

design solutions for a series of urgent social, economic and cultural

issues within the Chinese context.

Each lecture and architect focused on programmatic and design challenges

such as local culture and its modern representation (Tong Ming),

bamboo construction, materiality and local knowledge in China’s countryside

(Chen Haoru), renovation and adaptation of derelict industrial

heritage (O-Office) and navigating in-between architectural and urban

design in Shenzhen and Hong Kong (Else Design). The lecture series

concluded with a critical overview of contemporary Chinese architectural

developments and practices by the renowned Chinese scholar Li

Xiangning.

Each of these select architects have each made significant contributions

to the architectural field by building critically acclaimed projects in each

of their cities amidst the swift-changing urban and rural environment.

Parallel Activities

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198

SENSEABLE CITIES

Lecture by Carlo Ratti


Carlo Ratti in the Digital Water Pavilion at the Zaragoza Expo 2008.

Photograph Ramak Fazel.

On 13 May 2016, the Department of Architecture organised the first

XJTLU Interdepartmental Lecture, an initiative promoted by Paul Kadetz

in collaboration with five other Departments (Public Health, Urban

Planning and Design, Biological Science, English Culture and Communication,

IBSS).

The inaugural lecture was presented by Carlo Ratti, Director of the Senseable

City Lab at the MIT (Cambridge, USA) and owner of the design

company Carlo Ratti Associati in Turin, who has an established reputation

as a global thinker and innovator. Ratti’s lecture, illustrated by many

of his brilliantly innovative projects, critically discussed how increasing

deployment of sensors and hand-held electronics in recent years has

enabled new approaches to the study of the built environment, with

innovations in the tools used to design it impacting on its physical structure,

and radically transforming the way we understand and describe it.

An architect and engineer by training, Carlo Ratti has co-authored over

250 publications and holds several patents. His work has been exhibited

in a number of venues worldwide, including the Venice Biennale; MoMA

New York; and, MAXXI in Rome. Two of his projects – the Digital Water

Pavilion and the Copenhagen Wheel – were hailed by Time Magazine as

one of the ‘Best Inventions of the Year’. He has been included in Blueprint

Magazine's ‘25 People who will Change the World of Design’ and

in Wired Magazine’s ‘Smart List: 50 People who will Change the World’.

He was curator for the ‘Future Food District’ at Expo Milano 2015, and is

currently serving as Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda

Council on Future Cities.

Parallel Activities

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200

MASTERPLANNING

THE FUTURE


The departmental magazine, Masterplanning the Future (MPTF) has

had a significant impact within and outside the University. It is the only

independent online architecture magazine in China, written in English

that aims to bring Chinese architecture to an international audience.

Since its inception, MPTF has organised the Department’s speakers programme

with local and international visiting architects. Students have

used the opportunity to interview all speakers and post resulting articles,

which has been a way to network with architects and build professional

relationships for potential internships.

We are now moving into film, recording interviews and planning a short

documentary. We will also launch round-table, filmed discussions where

students debate issues facing China.

This magazine is a great way to enhance students’ critical skills and to

develop good journalistic and English-speaking skills. We hold regular

meetings to promote, train, engage, take questions and help students in

this endeavour.

We are always looking for new editorial members!

Parallel Activities

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202

The research strategy of the Department of Architecture is focused on

three research areas:

History, Theory and Heritage

History, theory and heritage are fields of expertise of increasing importance

in contemporary China. In the context of profound economic and

social transformation, focus on the relationship between modernisation

and tradition has taken centre stage. This applies in particular to the Suzhou

region, where a number of significant historical sites and artefacts

are located.


RESEARCH

Our staff possess strong and diversified backgrounds in the history and

theory of architecture and building heritage, the Department of Architecture

is ideally placed to engage in studies and research on these

subject matters. The history, theory and heritage research area covers a

variety of fields of interest, including history and theory of architecture,

urban history, landscape history, building heritage, cultural and material

history, and industrial heritage.

Computational Design and Fabrication

Digitally aided design and construction are key areas in which the

Chinese building industry has potential for development and a need for

innovation. These areas have only recently found significant recognition

amongst Chinese universities.

Strengths of the Department of Architecture's academic staff, the recent

establishment of XJTLU's Research Institute on Industrial Design and

3D Printing, and emerging relationships with related local industry offer

our Department an opportunity to assume a position of leadership in

this field.

Urban Ecologies

To address the challenges of contemporary urban environments creative

solutions are needed. This applies in particular to China, where cities

currently face the challenges of enormous transformations at an unprecedented

pace. Within this context, urban ecologies seeks to research

the changing nature of the urbanising world; to link questions of human

interactions within developing cities to the political, social and cultural

and environmental discourse; to explore and critique the sustainability

and liveability of contemporary urbanism.

Being initiated by XJTLU’s Department of Architecture, the urban

ecologies research platform offers a unique opportunity for inter-disciplinary

and comparative approaches that consider the design and the

design processes of the built environment. Urban ecologies allows for

existing paradigms to be questioned, and for radically new approaches to

the study of cities and their environment that take into account scientific

203

204

and technological research as well as research in sociology, art, design

and aesthetics.

Interrelated and not exclusive, these three areas of expertise cover a

wide range of interests. More than rigid research groups, they support

the formation of open research platforms; they link the Department of

Architecture to other departments and research institutes at XJTLU, to

other Chinese universities and to professional figures outside academia;

and they foster international collaborations.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH

OUTCOMES 2015-2016


A particular concern of the Department is to explore the possibility to

develop a form of research that is specific to the architectural discipline:

Research by Design. This is an experimental form of applied research with

other less conventional research outcomes (including prototypes, projects,

buildings, components, and exhibitions). In this way, the Department

differentiates itself from the research work produced in the big design

institutes of the major Chinese state universities by developing an experimental

design activity at a small scale, with a flexible staff structure.

太湖赏石 ’ Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain’, 20th Century. Taihu Limestone; Epoxy Stand.

H. (with stand) 46 in. (116.8 cm); W. 28 1/2 in. (72.4 cm); D. 20.5 in. (52.1 cm).

Rosenblum Family Collection, Gift of Anna Rosenblum Palmer, 2011.

From The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

HISTORY, THEORY

AND HERITAGE

2016

Publications

Berstrand, T. “Arne Jacobsen.” Routledge Encyclopaedia on Modernism

2016, – https://www.rem.routledge.com.

Berstrand, T., “Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint.” Routledge Encyclopaedia on

Modernism 2016, – https://www.rem.routledge.com.

Berstrand, T. “Jørn Utzon.” Routledge Encyclopaedia on Modernism

2016, – https://www.rem.routledge.com.

Carlin, P. 2016. "Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Today Is Tomorrow (Book Review).”

Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture 14(1): 142-5.

Dong, Y. 2016. “Growing Industrial Heritage Conservation and Research

Community”. TICCIH Bulletin 71: 5-6.

Dong, Y. 2016. “Reports on European Industrial Heritage Museum 欧洲工

业博物馆散记 ”, Metamorphosis of Old Factories, World Heritage Geography

6:48-55

Renfer, C. and Dong, Y. (translation) 2016 “Considerations of a Swiss

Monument Preservationist during a Visit to Traditional Villages in China

– The Shaxi Rehabilitation Project as an Opportunity 瑞士遗产保护

工作者对中国传统村落的思考 - 从沙溪复兴工程谈起 ” , Heritage Architecture,2016(2):108-119.

Croset P.-A., G. Peghin and L. Snozzi. 2016. Dialogo Sull' insegnamento

Dell' architettura. Syracuse: LetteraVentidue.

Croset, P.-A. 2016. “Kenneth Frampton: Lezioni di Autentica Modernità/

Kenneth Frampton: Lessons on Authentic Modernity.” Domus 1002: 16-19.

Fischer, T. 2016. “Defaceable System MK 4 and Brent Shopping Yr 3.”

In Ranulph Glanville. Architecture | Art | Cybernetics | Design. London

and The 1960S, ed. M. Ertl, W. Korn & A. Müller, 63-70. Vienna: edition

echoraum.

205

206


Fischer, T. 2016. “In Ranulph’s Terms.” Cybernetics

and Human Knowing 21, no. 1: 87-97.

Herr, C.M. 2016. “Between Contemporary and Traditional:

The Ongoing Search for a Chinese Architectural

Identity.” In Handbook of Cultural Industries

in China, ed. M. Keane, 452-67. Northampton, MA:

Edward Elgar Publishing.

Scrivano, P. and F. De Pieri. 2016. “Rappresentare il

'Centro Storico' di Bologna. Politiche di Conservazione

e Reinvenzione di Un’Identità Urbana, 1965-

1973.” In La Scoperta della Città Antica. Esperienza

e Conoscenza del Centro Storico Nell’Europa del

Novecento, ed. D. Cutolo and S. Pace, 163-183. Macerata:

Quodlibet.

Stergiou, L. 2016. “Fabricating the Future. Progress,

Global, and the Avant-garde.” New Architecture

(Have We Ever Been Modern? ) 3

Xi, J. and F. Lu. 2016. “The Architectural Features and

Existing Problems of Huizhou Folk Residence-Gen

Xin Tang.” Journal of Anhui Polytechnic University

31, no. 3: 40-43.

Wang, H. and J. Xi. 2016. “Analysing the ‘Grey Space’

of Huizhou Traditional Residence.” Journal of Xi’an

University Of Architecture & Technology (Social

Science Edition) 35, no. 2: 62-6.

Wash, G. 2016 “Silk Prosperity Reminiscences in

Suzhou’s Urban Fabric.” iaSU2016, Archi-Cultural

Interactions through the Silk Road, Mukogawa Women's

University, Nishinomiya, Japan, 130-33.

Conference Papers

Berstrand, T. 2016. “Passe-Partout, Or Five Times

around the Living Space.” 5th Derrida Today Conference,

8-11 June 2016, Goldsmiths, University Of

London, United Kingdom.

Dong, Y. 2016. “Industrial Remains to Industrial

Heritage - Heritage Production in Booming Cities: A

Critical Analysis of Waterfront Industrial Area Conservation

Process in Shanghai.” ACHS 2016-What

does Heritage Change? 03-08 June, 2016. Montreal,

Canada.

Han, Jiawen. “From Gated to Non-Gated Communities:

Reconstructing Vital Physical and Social Street

Environments in Suzhou.” The Great Asian Streets

Symposium, 12-13 December 2016, Singapore,

Han, Jiawen. “Suzhou as a Historical and Cultural

City: Assessing the Role of the Ageing Population in

Upgrading the Ancient City.” The 23rd International

Seminar on Urban Form, 8-10 July 2016. Nanjing,

China.

2015

Publications

Croset P.-A. 2015. “The Palimpsest and the Archipelago:

The ‘Danwei’ as a New Urban Project.” In Beijing

Danwei: Industrial Heritage in the Contemporary

City, ed. M. Bonino and F. Pieri, 178-81. Berlin: Jovis.

Fischer, T. 2015. “Circular Regeneration.” In Change

Ahead: How Research and Design are Transforming

Business Strategy, ed. C. Verschoor, 219-20. BIS Publishers,

Amsterdam.

Fischer, T. 2015. “Wiener’s Prefiguring of a Cybernetic

Design Theory.” IEEE Technology and Society

Magazine 34(3): 52–9.

Fischer, T. 2015. “Designing Together.” Cybernetics

and Human Knowing 22(2-3): 131–44.

Fischer, T. 2015. “Blind Spots Obscuring Circular

Causality in Design and Elsewhere.” Kybernetes

44(8-9): 1233-39.

Fischer, T. 2015. “Participation, Not Conservation: A

Computing Approach to Traditional Craft.” In Emerging

Experiences in Past, Present and Future of Digital

Architecture. Proceedings of the 20th International

Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design

Research in Asia, ed. Y. Ikeda, C.M. Herr, D. Holzer, S.

Kaijima, M.J. Kim and M.A. Schnabel, 499–508. Hong

Kong: CAADRIA.

Hidalgo, J. Á. 2015. “La Modernidad Construida con

Historia. Sobre la Casa-Museo de Sir John Soane en

Londres.” In Enseñanza y pensamiento, ed. Ignacio

Vicens y Hualde. Buenos Aires: Diseño.

Hidalgo, J. Á. 2015. “De cuando lo inútil se vuelve

esencia. Sobre el muro del Pecile en Villa Adriana.”

In Enseñanza y pensamiento, ed. Ignacio Vicens y

Hualde. Buenos Aires: Diseño.

Stergiou, L. 2015. ‘Charles Esche: Guided by Anger

and Hope,’ Volume, 10 October, 2015. http://volumeproject.org/volume-22-charles-esche-guided-byanger-and-hope

Wash, G. and J. Tamura. 2015. “Core–Housing and

Collaborative Architecture: Learning from Dandora.”

In Future of Architectural Research. Proceedings for

ARCC2015, Architectural Research Centers Consortium,

ed. A. Aksamija, J. Haymaker and A. Aminmansour,

363-68. Chicago: Perkins+Will.

Conference Papers

Berstrand, T. 2015. “Four Times around the Living

Space: or How Derrida Provided a Language for the

Architect.” Jd15, Derrida and Architecture, 26-27

June 2015, The Royal Danish Academy Of Fine Arts,

Schools Of Architecture, Design And Conservation,

Denmark.

Han, Jiawen. “Confronting the Psychological Complexity:

The Everyday Chinese Landscape in the

Middle of Nowhere.” In International Conference on

East Asian Architectural Culture, 10-14 November

2015, Gwangju, Korea.

Stergiou, L. 2015, “Fabricating the Future,” What is

architecture? What can architects do? International

Conference, 18 – 19 May, 2015, Guangzhou Academy

of Fine Arts, China.

Westermann, C. 2015. “Inhabitable Theories. Re-Initiated.”

This Thing Called Theory, 12th International

Conference of the AHRA - Architectural Humanities

Research Association, 19-21 November 2015, Leeds

Beckett University, United Kingdom.

207

208

ceedings of the DADA International Conference on Digital Architecture,


COMPUTATIONAL

DESIGN AND FAB-

RICATION

2016

Publications

Dounas, T. and A.B. Spaeth. 2016. “Ubiquitous Digital Repositories in the

Design Studio - A Case study.” In Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings

of the 34th eCAADe Conference, 22-26 August 2016, Vol. 1, ed. H. Aulikki,

T. Österlund and P, Markkanen, University of Oulu, Finland, 241-9.

Spaeth, A.B, T. Dounas, and J. Kieferle. 2016. “Complexity and Simplicity

- Tensions in Teaching Computation to Large Numbers of Architecture

Students.” In Complexity & Simplicity - Proceedings of the 34th eCAADe

Conference, 22-26 August 2016, Vol. 1, ed. H. Aulikki, T. Österlund and P,

Markkanen, University of Oulu, Finland, 229-36.

Fischer, T. and C. M. Herr. 2016. “Parametric Customisation of a 3D Concrete

Printed Pavilion.” In Living Systems and Micro-Utopias: Towards

Continuous Designing. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference

on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, 30 March –

02 April, University of Melbourne, Australia, 549-58.

Wash, G. and S. Miyazaki. 2016. “Visualizing Patterns of Occupation in

the Old Pugao Village.” In Resilience and Diversity: Rethinking Asian

Architecture for the Next Generation. ISAIA2016 Proceedings for the

11th International Symposium on Architectural Interchanges in Asia,

20-23 September, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, 673-76.

Xi, J. 2016. “Evaluating the Functional Performance of Demountable

Buildings.” Zhuangshi Journal 276 (4): 48-50.

2015

Publications

Fischer, T. and C. Herr. 2015. “Showcasing the New Choosing: A Parametric

Jewellery Design and Fabrication Exhibit.” In Digital Factory: Pro-

URBAN

ECOLOGIES

04-05 July, ed. W. Xu and W. Huang. Tongji University, Shanghai, 75–83.

Herr, C.M. and R. Ford. 2015. “Adapting Cellular Automata as Architectural

Design Tools.” In CAADRIA 2015. Emerging Experiences in the

Past, Present and Future of Digital Architecture, Proceedings of the 20th

International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design

Research in Asia, 23-26 May, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea,

169-78.

Herr, C.M. 2015. “Second-Order Cellular Automata to Support Designing.”

Kybernetes 44 (8-9): 1251-61.

Wash, G. 2015. “‘Clustering Places’: City as Organism. New Visions for

Urban Life.” In Proceedings for the 22nd International Seminar on Urban

Form ISUF, 22-26 September, Sapienza University, Rome, 1991-98.

2016

Publications

Dall' Asta, J.C. 2016. “Segni deboli, tracce permanenti.” In Infrastrutture

minori nei territori dell’abbandono, ed. E. Corradi and R. Massacesi, 145-

56. Rome: Aracne Edizioni.

Kim, M.K., and L. Baldini. 2016. “Energy Analysis of a Decentralized

Ventilation System Compared with Centralized Ventilation Systems in

European Climates: Based on Review of Analyses, Energy and Buildings.”

Energy and Buildings 111: 424-33.

Ren, W. and J. Xi. 2016. “The Dimensions, Development and Challenges

of Effectiveness Assessment Methods for SEA in the UK.” Environmental

Impact Assessment 38(2): 53-6.

Tiazzoldi, C. 2016. “Combinatorial Architecture: A methodology to engage

quantitative and qualitative phenomenology in the design of urban

spaces.” In «Ambiance Demain / Ambiance Tomorrow »: Proceedings of

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the International Symposium Volos, 21-24 September

2016, ed. N. Tixier and N. Remy, Vol. 1, University of

Thessaly, Greece, pp. 865-72.

Xi, J. and W. Ren. 2016. “Analysing British Urban

Planning Education.” Urban and Rural Development

499(4): 85-7.

Zhang, G. and J. Xi. 2016. “Learning from Advanced

International Urban Planning Educational and

Research Experiences.” Shanghai Urban Planning

Review (forthcoming).

Conference Papers

Cui, S. and M.K. Kim. 2016. “A Feasibility Study of

Trombe Wall Design in the Cold Region of China.”

The 9th International Conference on Indoor Air

Quality Ventilation & Energy Conservation in Buildings,

23-26 October, Incheon Songdo, Republic of

Korea.

Kim, M.K. 2016. “Ventilation impact of outdoor CO2

concentration increase.” In The 14th international

Conference of Indoor Air Quality and Climate: Indoor

Air, 03-08 July, Ghent, Belgium

2015

Publications

Bonino, M., P. Repellino, and P.-A. Croset. 2015.

“Learning from Places, as One of the Tasks of Urban

Design.” Urban Design 2, ZHU Wenyi, Tsinghua University

Press (CHN), 44-53.

Bonino, M. and P.-A. Croset. 2015. “Waterfronts:

Regenerating the ‘Ribeira das Naus’ in Lisbon.” Shijie

Jianzhu 300(6): 110-13.

Bonino, M., P.-A. Croset and F. De Pieri. 2015. “Pechino

come Arcipelago: La Trasformazione delle Danwei

Industriali.” Territorio 74: 56-63.

Cimillo, M. 2015. “Efficientamento energetico (Energy

efficiency upgrading).” In RE-Cycling Social

Housing , ed. M. Perricioli, 196-97. Naples: CLEAN.

Croset P.-A. 2015. “Da Torino a Suzhou/From Turin

to Suzhou.” Domus 987: 34-7.

Dall'Asta, J.C. 2015. “Creativity? Urban and Architectural

Design Strategies for the Contemporary City.”

In Architecture for a Creative City, 92 -101. Santarcangelo

Di Romagna: Maggioli Editore.

Kim, M.K. and H. Leibundgut. 2015. “Performance of

Novel Ventilation Strategy for Capturing CO2 with

Scheduled Occupancy Diversity and Infiltration

Rate.” Building and Environment 89: 318-26.

Kim, M.K., L. Baldini, H. Leibundgut, J. A. Wurzbacher

and N. Piatkowski, 2015. “A Novel Ventilation

Strategy with CO2 Capture Device and Energy Saving

in Buildings.” Energy and Buildings 87: 134–41.

Stergiou, L. 2015. ‘Athens Here and Now,’ Architects,

Period C, 16:8-9.

Tucci, F., A. Battisti, M. Cimillo, and F. Calcerano.

2015. “Natural Ventilation and Passive Cooling for

Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Mediterranean

Climate.” CSE - City Safety Energy Journal

1: 156-65.

Xi, J. and G. Zhang. 2015. “What China can Learn

from the Bilbao Effect.” Urban and Rural Development

486(3): 87-9.

Conference Papers

Cimillo, M. et al. Flexibility for adaptation and

resilience in architecture. IBEE conference 2016:

“Achieving Excellence” Liverpool John Moores University,

Liverpool, 8 September 2016

Kim, M.K. 2015. “Introduction of Decentralized

Ventilation Systems in Buildings.” The First International

Conference on Sustainable Buildings and

Structures, 29-31 October, Suzhou, China.

Ruggiero, R.P., L. Ridolfi, M. Cimillo, N. Viviani. 2015.

IACP 2.0 (Public Housing 2.0). International Conference

of Architecture Living the Future. University

Federico II, Naples, CLEAN.

Westermann, C. 2015. “Speculations on the Poetic

City, with a Skyscraper Skyline in View and WeChat

on Stand-By.” MEDIACITY 5 - Reflecting on Social

Smart Cities, 01-03 May, Plymouth, UK

Workshops

Cimillo, M. et al. Flexibility for adaptation and resilience

in architecture. International workshop at

Sapienza University of Rome, 8 May 2016. Organised

by Northumbria University and Sapienza University,

Funded by CHOBE–Councils Heads of Built Environment

and British Council-Newton Fund.

Stergiou L. 2014-15. “On Ceramic Works (Urban

Morphology and Spatial Dynamics)” Shipai Village

International Urban Design Workshop, School of

Architecture & Applied Arts, Guangzhou Academy

of Fine Arts, China, and workshop’s exhibition at E9,

Redtory Art & Design Factory, Guangzhou, 11 December,

2014 - 14 January, 2015.

Westermann, C. and H. Liang. 2015. “The Potentiality

of Blandness: A Journey via the East to Rethinking

Interaction.” CHI'15 (ACM SIGCHI) Workshop -

W27: Leveraging and Integrating Eastern and Western

Insights into Human Engagement Studies in HCI.

Seoul, South Korea.

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LIVEABILITY AT THE LEVEL

OF RESIDENTIAL STREETS IN

SHANGHAI


Aura Istrate, Area of Shanghai with Selected Streets for Empirical Inquiry Using Maps from Liu (2014) and

http://www.icanvas.com (2016), 2016

Aura Luciana Istrate

PhD Candidate


Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University

(XJTLU)

This research problematises the understanding of liveability at the local

level in urban settlements. The importance of studying urban liveability

nowadays is reflected in the major differences that appear between

aspirational plans and liveability outcomes in cities all over the world.

In China, there are very few studies that assess liveability at the local

level. In addition, the meaning of liveability varies from area to area

based on natural conditions for living, on culture, on people’s background,

on social groups. In this way, the principles of liveability that

have been previously concluded in Western countries may not apply in

the same way in China, therefore the need to specifically assess liveability

in the Chinese context.

This study focuses on the attributes in terms of design and planning that

enhance liveability on local Shanghai streets. Cases are selected based

on the different physical characteristics of the streets, including historical

periods of formation and traffic considerations.

A framework of objective and subjective indicators that affect liveability

at the local level of analysis has been established based on an extensive

literature review and on a survey with Shanghai professionals interested

in liveability issues. Theoretical findings indicate that liveable streets

depend on a number of qualities including: safety, a humanised environment,

local economic development, a sense of belonging, social interaction

and physical facilities for living. Empirical research will further

investigate these concerns through engagements with local residents.

The relationship between the physical characteristics and liveability

at the street level is of particular importance at this moment with the

Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announcing

that gated communities will gradually open towards the street space. The

outcomes of this research thus seek to assist authorities in the formulation

of effective urban policies for liveable streets.

Research

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214

RESEARCH ON AN IDEAL

MODEL OF COMMUNITY

HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY

COMMUNITY IN SUZHOU


Senior Citizens across China celebrating the Chongyang Festival, China's day for the elderly, 9 October

2016. Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/

Qian Lin

PhD Candidate



(XJTLU)

With the population of elderly people increasing, ageing is becoming an

important social issue in China. The “One Child Policy” of 1980s limited

the number of children born and has resulted in a 4-2-1 structural morphology

across three generations with a nuclear family typically defined

by 4 grandparents, a couple, and one child. Due to the pressure from

contemporary fast-paced life and increased opportunities, the younger

generation born in the 1980s and 1990s no longer live a traditional way

of life. Regardless of whether they choose to marry late, or establish

a Dink family, their lifestyles are contributing to an increased elderly

demographic. According to statistics, by 2030 the elderly population

of China will reach 400 million, surpassing that of Japan. And by then

China will have the highest level of ageing in the world. But currently,

design for the elderly community in China is still relatively backward,

which may hardly keep pace with the demand of ever-growing population

of the elderly.

Old people have their own way of life and daily activities, so it is imperative

that design for the elderly community first satisfy their needs. In

China there are generally three types of elderly care: institutional care;

community care; and home-based care. Institutional care is operated by

either governments or private agencies, and includes facilities such as

nursing homes or assisted living facilities, where the elderly are housed

together to receive services. Community care mainly refers to businesses

that provide services to residents in their communities, including

food, home maintenance, and home care, facilitating the daily life of the

elderly people. It also includes the provision of recreational facilities,

such as card rooms, dancing rooms, and sports halls, where they can enjoy

leisure time together. And finally home-based care generally means

that elderly people live at home with their children. Given Chinese culture

and customs, most Chinese people prefer home-based care, however

this option is becoming increasingly less plausible. As such, this research

seeks to propose ideal models of community housing which will cater for

the elderly community in Suzhou.

Research

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216

URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

OF SUZHOU, 1949-1982


Quanqing Lu

PhD Candidate



(XJTLU)

My research aims to understand how Suzhou’s urban form was transformed

during the Socialist period. It spans from the founding of the

People’s Republic of China in 1949 to 1982 when planning and practices

of urban conservation were first initiated with the announcement of the

national law for conservation, with Suzhou then identified then as one of

the nation’s historic and cultural cities. Current research and literature on

urban form in Suzhou indicates, however, that this period has been less

discussed and there is a significant lack of information on the city’s

urban history.

Focusing on social factors that contributed to changes in urban form,

surveys of Socialist urban planning and associated ideologies have been

undertaken, these forming the basis of a literature review. Forthcoming

research will consider the social factors that might have contributed to the

preservation of urban form prior to the instigation of the national law, that

is, unsanctioned practices that were executed in the absence of a planning

authority. Research will then take into account the dynamic between the

promotion of change and the advocacy for preservation that were at play,

with a focus on the interactions and contradictions they created.

Research case studies have been identified and are based on a number

of different key focus points. The first considers the Xiang Men Area in

Ping Jiang District, the only remaining large empty space in the historic

city of Suzhou, which has witnessed significant industrialisation over the

past 60 years, including: the tearing down of the city wall for the use of its

materials in the construction of nearby industrial sites; the transformation

of courtyard houses into small manufacturing workshops; the filling in of

canals in order to create more space for industrial sites; and, the relocation

of industrial sites in order to improve the city’s urban landscape and

natural environment.

The second case study focuses on Ren Min Road, the main axis through

the historic city, which is one of the most important sites of construction

undertaken during Socialist era. Following its enlargement and reconstruction,

which included the installation of 2 new bridges and a new city

gate, Nan Men Gate, Renmin Road connected Suzhou Railway Station with

the Nan Men area, which was a site of heavy industry during the period of

Japanese colonisation.

Research

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'OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR OF

SUZHOU OF THE YEAR 2015-

2016' AWARD


Aleksandra Raonić, a lecturer in the Department of Architecture, XJTLU

was honoured to receive the Outstanding Educator of Suzhou for the year

2015-2016 Award from the local government.

Aleksandra is an accomplished architect and a passionate teacher. Her

work as an educator is informed as much by her experience in design practice

as it is by her research on the overlapping aspects of design education,

design practice and design research.

In her teaching, Aleksandra emphasises that architecture relates much

more to the shape of social life, the shape of culture, of human relationships,

of resilient nature, than to the ‘shape of an object’. Rather than

exposing students to a specific formal language in architecture, she challenges

them to reflect upon the intricate network of relationships within a

given context and also about new possible roles for an architect within it.

This is not always easy, and requires sensitivity and openness to a variety

of viewpoints and approaches. Consequently, Aleksandra works with a

great diversity of methods including the application of a computational

logic in an analogue design setting, media shifts that provoke exploratory

design thinking, various model making techniques, and explorations of

different material properties. With her pedagogic creativity, and her ability

to initiate innovation, she encourages students to embrace a culture of

risk and experimentation as the basis of innovation in design practice.

Aleksandra contends that teaching and learning cannot be based on the

imposition of static knowledge, rather it is a collaborative process in which

the teacher is a co-learner herself. Likewise, a school of architecture

should operate as a unique platform for creativity, experimentation and

exploration that allows the discipline to go beyond what is expected of it,

in order to transform and redefine itself, to find new ways and forms of

professional, creative, technical, and ethical practice, which is in conversation

with a continuously changing society.

We are very happy that the local government of Suzhou has decided to reward

our lecturer in her commitment to the education of new generations

of architects to come.

Research

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BDP-FARRELL PRIZE


The Department of Architecture at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

awarded the inaugural BDP-Farrell prize to Year Four student Chenxing

Sun, for his final year studio work.

Named after Ed Farrell, the first academic member of staff to join the

department in 2011, and sponsored by UK architecture practice BDP, the

prize recognises the undergraduate architecture student with the best studio

performance in the final year. Studio modules allow students to apply

the skills they have learnt throughout their degree to practical projects,

with two studio modules featuring in the fourth year.

Chenxing was presented with his award at a ceremony held in the XJTLU

Museum, during the University’s graduation week. Three other students

were awarded joint second place: Marcus Rigon, Yanzhe Zhang and

Jie You.

The award is a gift of Professor André Brown, Vice President for Academic

Affairs at XJTLU. Originally involved in setting up the department

at XJTLU, Professor Brown invited BDP, the architecture practice who

designed XJTLU’s newly-opened South Campus, to be a sponsor, thus

establishing the award.

BDP have close links with the Department of Architecture at XJTLU, with

Wang Tao, one of the principal designers of the South Campus, lecturing

for a number of years in the architecture programme’s professional practice

module.

Research

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YE XINZHENG 叶辛铮 WANG HE 汪赫 WANG RUOCHEN 王若尘 XU BINGJIE 许冰捷 FANG XINTONG 方心童 LI YANG 李扬 ZHAO

QING 赵青 CHEN YIXIN 陈奕欣 LUO XINGHUA 罗杏华 XIA JIAHUI 夏嘉桧 HOU XIAOCHEN 侯晓晨 DENG SIQI 邓斯琪 WANG

ZILONG 王子珑 LIU YUSHU 刘俣淑 SHEN TIANYE 沈天烨 SHI BINYU 史彬玉 DUAN YAWEN 段雅文 YANG ZHE 羊哲 CHEN JI-

ANZHAO 陈剑钊 DUAN JIYU 段继宇 ZHANG RONGFENG 张榕峰 TANG CHAO 汤超 QIAN YU 钱逾 YANG TIANYUAN 杨天远 XU

YINGSHI 徐应时 SU TIANYU 苏天宇 ZHANG YUSHU 张毓书 GUO ZIFENG 郭子锋 YU MENGFEI 余梦菲 ZHENG CHENCHEN 郑

宸辰 GHESHAV RAMPERSAD YIN TAO 尹陶 CHEN YU 陈雨 YOU JIE 游洁 JIN TIAN 金恬 CHEN JIAMIAO 陈佳苗 SHEN YUE 沈越

CHEN TIANCHI 陈天驰 DAI ANNI 戴安妮 NI YUNQIAN 倪韻倩 ZHANG CUICHENG 张璀宬 WANG HUIYU 王辉玉 ZHOU XIAJING

周夏菁 ZHU RUOYI 朱若旖 HAN DI 韩荻 YOU XINZHU 由馨竹 YANG YUXUN 杨雨洵 YIN KAIFENG 尹凯丰 ZHU RUI 朱锐 ZHOU

BIQIAO 周碧峤 XIE MINGHUAN 谢明焕 ZHAN XING 詹行 ZHAO ZHE 赵哲 LI YANPEI 李彦霈 WEI LU 卫璐 GAO YIXUAN 高诣轩

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

XIAN JIAOTONG-LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC STAFF


LIU ZIHAN 刘子涵 SUN CHENXING 孙晨星 SUN QIUJIE 孙秋洁 GONG JIAMING 巩佳鸣 ZHANG HUANQI 张欢奇 HAN YUXI 韩雨

希 LI JIAYI 李佳忆 YANG ZHENYUAN 杨振源 ZHANG YANZHE 张艳喆 LIAO LONGTAI 廖隆泰 LI ZHAOHAN 李兆晗 BIAN ZHIFAN

卞之凡 SUN FENGZHU 孙凤翥 WANG WEIPING 王蔚屏 SUN XIAO 孙潇 LINARDI FELIX LUO BAOMING 罗宝明 SONG ZENING

宋泽宁 ZHOU XIAOCHEN 周啸尘 WANG XIANGLONG 王湘龙 MA YUNJIA 马韵佳 FENG LU 冯璐 ZHU RUNZI 朱润资 WANG

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YINGDA 隋英达 KANG WENZHAO 康文钊 QIAN SHIYU 钱时宇 HU SHIXIN 胡世欣 DU HANXI 杜涵茜 ZHANG CHENKE 张晨珂

WANG XIAOYUAN 王小元 ZHANG YINGQI 张英琦 WU HAO 吴昊 YANG SHIHAO 杨世豪 WANG SHUANGYI 王爽懿 SHI HAOYU 石

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FANGZHOU 罗方舟 LI XINRAN 李欣然 LI ZEYU 李泽宇 ZHANG HONGRU 张洪儒 WANG ZIYU 王子玉 ZHAO XIAOSHU 赵小舒

CUI HAOCHEN 崔昊宸 LV XIAOHUI 吕晓慧 FENG XUEYAN 冯雪妍 WU DANYANG 吴丹阳 WANG ZHE 王喆 WANG JIAPENG 王佳

鹏 WANG JIANXUAN 王建轩 ZHOU YILIN 周依林 SUN ZHIWEI 孙志伟 WU XIN 邬欣 XIA JIANQIANG 夏坚强 XU ZHENHAO 许真

豪 LI JINGHONG 李静虹 ZHAO KUN 赵琨 QIAO JIATUN 乔稼屯 XU DUO 许多 ZHANG SHIYUN 章诗韵 YUN JIAXIN 恽佳欣 CAO

SHAN 曹珊 JIANG YAXIN 姜亚昕 LI RUI 李睿 WU JUNHAO 吴君豪 YI JIE 伊婕 ZHOU JIAN 周简 HUA ZHEN 华真 TONG DA 童

达 WANG XIN 汪昕 WANG XINDI 王心迪 SHI JIAJING 石嘉靖 ZHOU JIER 周吉尔 LIN HUADONG 林华栋 SU CHEN 苏晨 HUANG

YUDI 黄雨笛 PAN HONGYU 潘鸿瑜 ZHENG JINRI 郑金日 RAN YULIN 冉煜麟 TU OULI 涂欧犁 WU ZHUOYING 吴卓颖 LI SIZHOU

李四周 WANG SHIWEN 王诗雯 XU YILE 徐乙乐 YANG ZHUXUAN 杨竹萱 WANG LIU 王柳 ZHU SIWEI 朱思为 LIN JINGYING 林婧

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ZHE 李宇喆 QI YUE 亓越 SUN YITENG 孙一腾 LIU XINPING 刘心平 QI XIAOZHI 齐啸之 TIAN ZHAOXI 田兆犀 WANG DUCHENG

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WENFEI 康雯菲 GAO ZHENLIANG 高臻良 LI YANGKENAN 李阳柯楠 XU MINGYANG 徐铭阳 YANG YIMING 杨艺鸣 ZHANG XINYU

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NATASHA TJANDRA RICKY GRETCHENKO ULIANA DHARMA MULYONO JOSHUA BRYAN SEEWOO NIKHIL KOROMILA EIRINI

LYLE HENRY JACK COWAN CHAN SZE WING CHLOE SAANTHAKUMAR SHANKAR ROBERTSON ANDREW OVSIUKAS ANDRI-

US TSHOMO NAMGAY YANGZOM TSHERING

Pierre Alain Croset

Head of Department

Dipl. Arch., Ecole Polytechnique

Fédérale de

Lausanne (Switzerland)

Registered Architect (CH and IT)

Ganna Andrianova

PhD, Odessa State Academy of

Construction and Architecture (UA)

MArch, Odessa State Academy of


BArch, Odessa State Academy of


José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano

PhD Universidad Politécnica de

Madrid (ES)

Dipl Arch Universitat Politècnica de

Catalunya, Barcelona (ES)

Tordis Berstrand

Ph.D., in Architecture, University of

Kent (UK)

M.Sc, Architectural History, The

Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

(UK)

M.Arch, Architecture, The Royal

Danish Academy of Fine Arts (DK)

Bert de Muynck

M.Arch, Architectural Engineering,

Catholic University of Leuven, Faculty

of Architecture (BE)

Yiping Dong

PhD, Tongji University (CN)

MArch, Tongji University (CN)

BArch, Tongji University (CN)

Theodoros Dounas

Dipl Eng Arch, Aristotle University of

Thessaloniki (GR)

Chartered Architect (GR)

Edward Farrell

MSc, Bartlett School of Graduate

Studies, University College London

(UK)

BArch, University College, Dublin (IE)

RIBA Chartered Architect and

Specialist Conservation Architect (UK)

Thomas Fischer

PhD, Royal Melbourne Institute of

Technology University (AUS)

PhD, University of Kassel (D)

MEd equiv., University of Kassel (D)

Christian Gänshirt

PhD, Brandenburg University of

Technology (D)

Dipl-Ing Arch, Universität Fridericiana

zu Karlsruhe (D)

Licensed and registered Architect,

Berlin Chamber of Architects (D)

Jiawen Han

Ph.D., Architecture, University of New

South Wales (AUS)

M.Arch, Dalian University of

Technology (CN)

Christiane M. Herr

PhD, University of Hong Kong (HK)

MArch, University of Hong Kong (HK)

Dipl-Ing Arch, University of Kassel (D)

Andrew Johnston (until 02/2016)

PhD, University of California, Berkeley

(USA)

MArch, University of California,

Berkeley (USA)

MSUD, Pratt Institute (USA)

BA, Hampshire College (USA)

Registered Architect and Certified

Planner (USA)

Moon Keun Kim

Ph.D., Architecture, Swiss Federal

Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH

Zurich)

M.Sc, Architectural Engineering,

Pennsylvania State University at

University Park (USA)

M.Sc, Engineering Acoustics,

Technical University of Denmark (DK)

M.Sc, Architecture, Yonsei University

(ROK)

Marian Macken

PhD, University of Sydney (AUS)

MArch, University of Technology

Sydney (AUS)

BLArch, University of New South

Wales (AUS)

BSc (Arch), University of Sydney (AUS)

Aleksandra Raonic

PhD Candidate, Universitat

Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona,

2015 - (ES)

M.Arch, Staatliche Hochschule für

Bildende Künste, Frankfurt (D)

Dipl.-Ing. Arch., University of Belgrade

(RS)

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224

ACADEMIC POSITION STATEMENT


Paolo Scrivano

PhD, Politecnico di Torino (IT)

Dipl. Arch., Politecnico di Torino (IT)

Lina Stergiou

Ph.D., Faculty of Art, Design &

Architecture, Kingston University,

London (UK)

M.Arch, Post-professional, Graduate

School of Architecture and Urban

Design, Pratt Institute, New York (USA)

Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.), Professional,

School of Architecture, National

Technical University of Athens (GR)

Caterina Tiazzoldi

PhD, Architecture, Politecnico di

Torino (IT)

M.Sc, GSAPP Columbia University,

Advanced Master, Architecture (US)

Li-An Tsien

ISACF-La Cambre, Diplôme de

Candidat Architecte (BE)

ISACF-La Cambre, Diplôme

d'Architecte (BE)

Glen Wash

PhD, University of Tokyo (JP)

MEng, University of Tokyo (JP)

Dipl Arch, Catholic University of

Valparaiso (CL)

Licensed Architect (CL)

Claudia Westermann

PhD, University of Plymouth (UK)

Pgr Dipl Media Art, Karlsruhe

University of Art and Design (D)

Dipl-Ing Arch, University of Karlsruhe,

TH (D)

Chartered Architect (D)

Austin Williams

Dipl Arch, Birmingham Polytechnic (UK)

BSc(Hons), Bartlett School of

Architecture, University College

London (UK)

Chartered Architect RIBA (UK)

Part-time Tutors

Hannan Bensho

Antonio Berton

Joan Cane

Ting-Ting Dong

Paul Ebell

Alexandre Edouard Emmanuel Gilot

Marta Gomez Anaya

Harry den Hartog

Justin Johnston

Liang Ma

Bart Mahieu

Li-An Tsien

Supporting staff

Jiaqi Fu, Built Environment

Administrator

Lili Chen, Department Secretary

Xiru Ma, Department Secretary

Jian Chen, Lab Technician

Chen Sun, Lab Technician

Introduction

Founded in 2011, the Department of Architecture at

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) is part

of a young Sino-British university situated in Suzhou,

a city which falls within the greater Shanghai area.

With construction of the university’s new South

Campus underway, in 2016, the Department moved

into its new Design Building which it shares with

the Department of Industrial Design, the building’s

facilities of the highest international standards.

Set in China, but closely connected with the University

of Liverpool and the UK framework of

architectural education, the Department’s aim is

to offer a new global model of architectural education.

The fostering of the students’ critical thinking

skills is an important and distinctive characteristic

of its Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes. In an

environment that is fast-changing, the Department

seeks to educate students in order to enable them to

take advantage of arising opportunities. This includes

the possibility of working as a “liberal professional,”

which has only recently become an option in China,

and offers new ways of practicing architecture for

current and future generations of architects.

As a relatively new and uniquely positioned architecture

school, the Department thus affirms and advances

the merits of architectural education as vital

to developing critical thinking skills for the longerterm

future.

Department Identity and Vision

With a faculty that contributes experiences in practice

and research in more than twenty countries, the

international make-up of the Department of Architecture

at XJTLU is unique in China. It brings together

traditions and opportunities from the East and the

West, and seeks to provide the best of both perspectives

in architectural and urban design, offering new

views on the local context as well as on global issues.

As China continues to undergo processes of modernisation,

the Department is particularly aware of

its responsibility in educating a new generation of

architects who face enormous challenges. There is an

emerging interest in topics such as the environment,

building tectonics, cultural heritage, and user-centred

design, as well as growing recognition of the

necessity to reinvest in the extant built environment

through urban regeneration and the refurbishment

of existing building stock.

These issues and concerns are viewed by the Department

as a challenge and as an opportunity, and

it responds through its focus on new human-centred

approaches to learning, practicing and researching

architectural design, in order to nurture attitudes

that will prove valuable in the future. For there is a

need – not only in China – for Architects who are

critical thinkers and highly qualified professionals.

Both the undergraduate and the postgraduate programmes

centre on applied architectural design

studio modules (50%), which are supported by a

balanced mix of humanities-based and technical

modules (25% each).

The Department’s research concentrates on three

headline research areas:

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● History, Theory and Heritage offers connections

with Suzhou and other heritage sites in

China, addressing, in particular, questions pertaining

to multiculturalism and trans-nationalism.

● Computational Design and Fabrication

develops partnerships with innovative high-tech

industries in the context of Suzhou Industrial Park

(SIP), with research in the processes of design and

professional practice key areas of interest.

● Urban Ecologies engages with the changing nature

of global urbanisation, with a focus on radically

new approaches to the study of cities and their environment

that are informed by research in science,

technology and sustainable construction, as well as

by studies in sociology, art, design, and aesthetics.

The Department is also committed to Research by

Design, an experimental form of research that is

specific to the architectural discipline, with less

conventional research outcomes, such as prototypes,

projects, buildings, components, and exhibitions.

To this end, the Design Research Centre has been

established to facilitate small-scale pilot projects. It

has a flexible staff structure, and involves a number

of permanent faculty members, along with local professional

architects who will contribute their specific

competences in architectural design, planning, and

construction.

Academic Agenda

The following key points are based on staff views,

student feedback, internal University reports, and external

reports by examiners and professional bodies:

Recent exceptional areas of activity

● International validation of the BEng(Hons) Architecture

programme at Part 1 level by the Royal

Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in February

2015, a first for a Chinese university.

● Award of candidate course status to the Master of

Architectural Design programme by RIBA in December

2016, also a first for a Chinese University.

● Excellent profile of an international faculty with

experience in practice and research in more than

20 countries directly supporting undergraduate and

postgraduate learning.

● Location of the Department in a new building,

shared with the Department of Industrial Design,

with a strong architectural identity, offering an ideal

showcase for its staff and students in spaces with a

particular character.

● Initiatives such as international workshops, student

competitions, and, summer research projects

within the framework of XJTLU’s Summer Undergraduate

Fellowships (SURF), positively impacting

the programmes’ development.

● Establishment of the first online architectural

magazine in English in China, Masterplanning

the Future (MPTF), which is student-led and has a

continuously growing number of students actively

participating.

Individuality of the learning environment in

the Chinese context

● Positioned in Suzhou, both a heritage city (classical

gardens recognised as UNESCO World Heritage

Sites) and an extremely dynamic new city, now the

fourth largest concentration of economic activity in

China in terms of GDP.

● Unique offering of undergraduate and postgraduate

programmes in English in China, taught by

international educators.

● Excellent resources on a new campus, open to the

vibrant life of one of China's flagship development

projects, the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), within

which the University and more than 100 Fortune 500

companies operate, offering a high quality of life.

● Excellent building resources supporting a vibrant

studio culture, with dedicated spaces for design studios,

reviews, and physical modelling, as well as for a

materials library.

● Recruitment of students from amongst the top 5%

of Chinese high school graduates, and a progressive

increase of international students.

Differences between Bachelor and Master

degrees

● BEng programme: provides a clear sequence of

design studios with the gradual introduction of ideas

and skills, with a focus on the attainment of personal

and professional confidence in order to take advantage

of practice experience.

● MArchDes programme: fosters student autonomy

and responsibility in pursuing individual interests

in view of future professional career development

opportunities, with the second year framed as a “research

by design” year.

● MArchDes programme: connection with XJTLU’s

Master programmes in Urban Planning and Urban

Design (with the Urban Planning and Design Department)

in year one creates unique possibilities for

interdisciplinary design research.

Relevance to professional practice

● Design studio themes are strongly connected with

real-world problems and necessities in China and

beyond; lecture courses and coursework are related

to contemporary issues and current concerns.

● Practicing architects in Suzhou and Shanghai

contribute as part-time tutors and visiting critics,

and present guest lectures, lead site visits, and offer

internships for students.

● Establishment of a Design Research Centre which

seeks to actively involve staff, students and local

practicing architects in the development of pilot

projects.

● Graduates work in top architectural offices, and

assist in strengthening the connections of the Department

to local practice.

Creative criteria delivering course content

● Innovative learning environment that fosters

independent, creative and responsible designers with

a thoughtful, research-led and imaginative approach

to place-making.

● Close collaboration with the two other Departments

of the Built Environment Cluster (Urban

Planning & Design and Civil Engineering), as well

as with the Department of Industrial Design (with

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shared facilities in the new Design Building), developing

a culture of teamwork and a multidisciplinary

approach to design.

● Flexible programme design, with the active participation

of a dynamic faculty, delivering responsive,

changing projects that complement and extend core

learning whilst still maintaining criteria fulfilling

content.

YEARBOOK 2015 - 2016 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

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