YEARBOOK 2017 - 2018 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

IMPRESSUM 

The 2017-18 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. 

2017-18 YEARBOOK has benefitted enormously from the 

generous advice and input of Gisela Loehlein and Peta 

Carlin, along with support from Yurui Li, Xinping Jiang, 

Zhaoyuan Lin and Mingyu Wang. The YEARBOOK was 

designed by Designtang. 

建 

筑 

系 

西 

交 

利 

物 

浦 

大 

学 

2017-2018 

YEARBOOK 

© 2018 Department of Architecture, XJTLU 

Edited by Jing Yang 

Building DB 111 Ren’ai 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 

005 Introduction 

B 

B Eng Architecture 

Programme Introduction 

Level 00 Year 1 

013 

015 

ARC001 

ARC002 


019 

021 

023 

025 

027 

033 

047 

061 


077 

079 

081 

083 

085 

ARC107 

ARC110 

ARC103 

ARC104 

ARC108 

ARC101 

ARC105 

ARC102 

ARC203 

ARC206 

ARC201 

ARC202 

ARC205 

Introduction to Architecture and 

Visual Culture 

Architectural Representation and 

Communication 

History of Western Architecture 

Humanities in Architecture 

Introduction to Environmental 

Science 

Structures and Materials 

Construction and Materials 

Design Studio | Design Thinking and 

Articulation 

Design Studio | Small Space Design 

Design Studio | Rediscovery of 

Learning for the Elderly 

History of Asian Architecture 

Urban Studies 

Environmental Design and 

Sustainability 

Structural Design 

Design Studio | Design and Building 

Typology 

097 


113 

115 

117 

119 

121 

133 

ARC301 

ARC303 

ARC306 

ARC308 

ARC305 

ARC304 

BB Eng Architectural Engineering 

Programme Introduction 

171 

173 

175 

P 

ARC204 

ARC111 

ARC112 

ARC207 

Practice Year 1 

Design Studio | Small Urban 

Buildings 

Architectural Technology 

Architectural Theory 

Professional Practice 

Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics 

Design Studio | Small and Medium 

Scale Buildings 

Design Studio | Final Year Project 

Integrated Design of Small Buildings 

Architectural Technology and 

Innovation 

Building Typology in Integrated 

Architectural Design 

Practice Introduction 

Master of Architectural Design 

M Programme Introduction 


191 

193 

195 

197 

199 

209 

221 


225 

227 

229 

231 

ARC409 Architectural Design and Research 

Methods 

ARC411 Practice Based Enquiry and 

Architectural Representation 

ARC408 Thesis 

ARC413/ARC410 Design Studio 3+4 

Practice Year 2 

255 RIBA PART 3 MEAP Access Course 

OOther Activities 

259 

261 

ARC403 

ARC407 

ARC402 

ARC406 

ARC405 

ARC404 

ALA 

Applied Technology in Architecture 

Architectural Theory and Criticism 

Advanced Professional Practice 

Topics in Architectural History: 

Modern Architecture as a 

Transnational Discourse 

Design Studio 1 | A Soft Urban 

Regeneration in Suzhou 

Design Studio 2 | 2042–Networked 

Urban Towers 

Additional Learning Activities 

Creative emergencies - International 

Workshop XJTLU – University of Tokyo 

Lecture Series Fall 2017 

263 

265 

267 

269 

271 

273 

275 

277 

279 

281 

283 

285 

287 

R Research 

292 

295 

309 

311 

313 

326 

International Architecture Conference and 

Exhibition 

International Architecture Exhibition - 

Mecanoo Architecten 

Rotterdam New Waterfront - Mecanoo 

International Workshop 

Exhibition: Bruno Taut’s Hyuga Villa in Atami, 

West of Japan / East of Europe 

Research workshop “Mapping Architectural 

Criticism in China” 

Cardboard Shelters 

MArchDes Students Win 3 rd Prize in CTBUH 

Student Design Competition 

Students Present Design Proposals at 

Footbridge2017 International Conference 

Freestyle Bridge Design Competition 

Materials Library 

Research Workshop - “Smart/Eco Cities and 

Distributed Renewable Energy Systems in 

China and in the Uk” 

Multiple Awards for Outstanding Final Year 

Projects 

BDP-Farrell Prize 

Research Outputs 2017-2018 

PhD Candidates 

Students 

Academic Staff 

Alumni 

Academic Position Statement

005 

INTRODUCTION 

006 

2017-2018 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西交利物浦大学建筑系 

This yearbook is a testimony to the achievements 

of students and academics in the undergraduate and 

postgraduate courses of the Architecture Department 

at XJTLU. The undergraduate cohort clearly 

demonstrates a dynamic, analytical approach to 

architecture with a strong sense of social and cultural 

sensitivity that is exhibited in the diverse modules 

recorded within this publication. The postgraduate 

cohort explored design challenges in depth and 

pursued the architectural design opportunities these 

offer with a relentless rigour and clear passion for 

architecture. 

XJTLU architecture students have a remarkable 

drive and unique approach that is clearly reflected 

in the student works captured in this yearbook, yet 

it merely presents a snapshot of the incredible work 

that our students and colleagues do. 

The international workshop by MECANOO held in 

Spring 2018, led by Nuno Fontarra, was attended by 

Bachelor and Master students. Students developed 

self-motivated and diverse design solutions to the 

given design challenge of an urban intervention in 

Rotterdam port. It is great to see that some of these 

initial ideas from the workshop continued into the 

design studio of the following semester. 

The BEng Architecture Programme is the 

powerhouse of our Department, attracting the largest 

student cohort. The work is explorative, vibrant, 

and holistic in its approach, demonstrating both the 

strength of modules taught as well as the skills and 

abilities that our students attain during their tenure 

at the Department. 

The Master in Architectural Design Programme 

received RIBA Part 2 validation and I would 

like to thank all staff members and students for 

this achievement. This makes the Architecture 

Department at XJTLU the only one in mainland 

China that offers RIBA Part 1+2 validated degree 

programmes. In addition, we offered for the first 

time in mainland China RIBA Part 3 preparatory 

courses. This is 100 years after The University of 

Liverpool first offered these courses in the U.K. We 

are very pleased that we managed to achieve this 

milestone. 

Two of our staff members received teaching 

awards, and our students won diverse national and 

international competitions once again this year. We 

are very proud to have such an active architectural 

educational environment that is conducive to such 

achievements. 

The Department’s PhD candidate cohort is growing 

to currently 8 students, which form the nucleus of 

a young, proactive, vibrant research community 

that firmly positions itself in between eastern and 

western schools of thought. Our staff are actively 

engaged in fostering this research momentum by 

organizing a series of interactive workshops and 

symposia, through their own research, and through 

participation in forums and conferences nationally 

and internationally. 

Three of our academic staff published books this 

year in association with well renowned publishing 

houses, a further testimony of the research strength 

and research momentum we are currently gaining. 

Our international student intake numbers are rising 

across the undergraduate and postgraduate cohort, 

evidence of the Architecture Department’s success and 

growing recognition within the world of architecture. 

This year has seen the transfer of Department Head 

from Professor Pierre Alain Croset, who left us to 

return to Italy to continue on in his academic work. 

We are grateful for the focus and rigour he provided 

in developing the building and the Department with a 

cultural focus. 

It is an honor for me to lead the Department into its 

next stage of development, which aims to become 

recognised as a top internationally renowned 

Architecture School. I take this opportunity to thank 

all colleagues for their support in the transition phase 

and I look forward to the dynamic drive and synergy 

of the students and colleagues that will enable the 

next stage to come into being. 

Professor Gisela Loehlein 

Head of Department of Architecture

007 

008 

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 yearold 

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 humanitiesbased 

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 

2017-2018 Programme Director

009 

010 

2017-2018 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西交利物浦大学建筑系

011 

012 

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) 


XJTLU ARCHITECTURE YEARBOOK 2017-2018

013 

014 

ARC001 

Introduction to Architecture and 

Visual Culture 

Jiayi Yang 


Wei Li 

Xinci Lin 

Zhujun Zhao 

Shuling Sun 

Wanting Shen 

Level 0 

( Year 1 | Semester 1 ) 

Module Credits 

2.5 

Module Leader 

Martin Fischbach 

Teaching Team 

Pierre-Alain Croset 

Kwok On Philip Fung 

Yongpeng Liu 

Paco Mejias Villatoro 

Sofia Quiroga Fernandez 

Yiwen Zhang 

Chengcheng Li (L.C.) 

Ann Brantingham (L.C.) 

Xiucai Lu (L.C.) 

Jiaci Chen (T.A.) 

Number of Students 

402 

This module is a general overview of various forms of graphic 

expression in art, architecture, landscape and design. It provides a visual 

and cultural basis for the understanding, analysis and presentation of 

the relationships between space, structure, form and visual composition. 

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

students to architectural imagination and visualization through lecture 

and course-based work, including a wide range of activities. A series 

of graphic and plastic experiments combine to form a structural entity, 

and lay the basis for the understanding, analysis and representation of 

architecture and visual culture. 

This module provides both theory and practice. The lectures present 

various form of visual arts related to architecture, outstanding works 

from artists and architects, and information to experiment with 

different media. The seminar time gives the opportunity to use different 

techniques: freehand sketching, conic perspective, axonometric, drawing 

rendering with black ink and watercolor, collage materials, photography, 

photomontage, digital manipulation and modelling. 

Each task brings the student a step closer in the methods and principles 

(both pragmatic and poetic) to visualize the spatial experience 

through two- and three-dimensional representational techniques. 

Basic architectural concepts are used through a gradual sequence of 

exercises, culminating in a three-dimensional proposal. Introduction to 

Architecture and Visual Culture aims to awaken the students’ creative 

abilities, develop latent aptitudes, and encourage their interest for 

architecture by introducing ways of seeing and analyzing, ways of 

making and exploring, and ways of communicating. 

Level 00 – Year 1 

B Eng Architecture Programme

015 

016 

Kexin Qian 

ARC002 

Architectural Representation and 

Communication 

Yuyin Xiao 


Zhizheng Li 

Level 0 



5 

Module Leader 

Philip Fung 

Teaching Team 


Christian Gänshirt 

Caterina Tiazzoldi 

Junjie Xi 

Florence Vannoorbeeck 

Kevin Sun 

Language Tutor 

Peiling Xing 


196 

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

students to architectural thinking and visualisation through lectures and 

course-based work, including a series of activities, progressing through 

sketching, drawing, collage, photography, reports, photomontage, digital 

manipulation and modelling. 

Each task brings the student a step closer in the methods and principles 

(both pragmatic and poetic) to visualise the spatial experience through 

two- and three-dimensional representational techniques. Basic 

architectural concepts are used through a gradual sequence of exercises, 

culminating in a three-dimensional proposal. A series of graphic and 

material experiments combine to form a structural entity, and lay the 

basis for the understanding, analysis and representation of architecture 

and communication. 

This module is organised in three parts: 

The first part, From Image to Object, consists of analysing, redrawing 

and interpreting an Image in two dimensions in order to create a threedimensional 

Object. 

The second part, Architectural Analysis: Representation & 

Communication, invites students to do complete research on an 

architectural building by synthesising the relevant theoretical texts and 

redrawing the building from the collected graphic documents. 

The third part, From Object to Space, explores graphically and spatially 

the potential of the previously produced object in order to adapt it and 

transform it into an architectural and urban proposal, a house in a block. 

In this part, many tools of representation and communication are used. 

Architectural representation and communication aims to awaken the 

students’ creative abilities, to develop latent aptitudes, and to encourage 

their curiosity for architecture by focusing on three particular aspects in 

a logical progression: observing to interpret, representing to learn, and 

transforming to communicate. 



017 

018 

LEVEL 01 


01 XJTLU 

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 Structures 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) 


ARCHITECTURE YEARBOOK 2017-2018

019 

020 

ARC107 

History of Western Architecture 


Sassoon House 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 

Paolo Scrivano 

Teaching Team 


Junjie Xi 

Jonathan Ford (LC) 


225 

This module, focussed on Western Architecture from ancient times to 

the 21st century. The aim was to introduce students to the history of 

architecture and to engage them in a critical reading of buildings and 

urban settings. Buildings, cityscapes, plans, and drawings were used to 

illustrate how architecture reflects the culture of specific geographical 

locations in diverse historical moments. In addition, architectural 

artifacts were analyzed from different perspectives (social, cultural, 

economic, institutional, etc.) with the goal of helping students acquire 

skills in understanding the built environment and develop a critical 

attitude towards architectural projects of the past, the present and the 

future. 

The module was organized through lectures and readings, but also 

included drawing and written exercises meant to initiate students to the 

analysis and interpretation of architectural examples, in the expectation 

that the familiarity with architectural history will foster future 

design thinking. A short research essay required students to conduct 

independent research and discuss a specific building or urban setting. 

Some sessions were delivered by a Language Centre tutor who assisted 

students with language/study skills requirements. Moreover, students 

were provided with online language/study skills support to help engaging 

with the module’s content. 

During the term, students participated in a field trip to Shanghai to 

analyze a select building on the Bund: the outcome of this exercise was 

a poster that included text, photographs, and drawings (plans, volumes, 

elevations, and architectural details). 



021 

022 

ARC110 

Humanities in Architecture 


Sample images of the work produced by students during the module. 

Level 1 



2.5 

Teaching Team 

Glen Wash Ivanovic (module leader) 

Jing Yang 


225 

Humanities in Architecture introduces students to architecture and 

the built environment as a broadly humanistic concern, and supports 

their future studio work by presenting them theories and methods on 

the relationship between humans and place. The module aims not only 

to give students more analytical approaches to architecture and design, 

but also to emphasise 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 

through subjects crucially connected to the humanities, including social 

sciences, geography, sociology, anthropology and history. 

In this version of the module students had three routes in Suzhou 

available for them to explore. Students had to undertake three different 

research projects in their selected route. In their first project they 

worked in groups of four to five students, later progressing to individual 

exercises. Each project familiarised students with specific theories and 

methodologies that they had to apply in their chosen route. The work was 

recorded in a module report, a log book which documented the student's 

work and their reflections of it. 



023 

024 

ARC103 

Introduction to Environmental 

Science 


Trends in the different drivers for global 

heating and cooling thermal energy 

consumption in residential and commercial 

buildings. 

Source: Ürge-Vorsatz et al. (2013) with 

projection data (2010 – 2050) from frozen 

efficiency scenario. 

Image source: IPCC report 2014. 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 

Moon Keun Kim 


220 

Introducing undergraduate students to the principles of environmental 

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

building science where students learn fundamental thermodynamics 

and building physics essential to the understanding of 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; 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. 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 as low carbon 

building design strategies and the impact of building energy consumption 

on climate change and global warming. 



025 

026 

ARC104 

Structures and Materials 


Song Lu: Drawing-based exercise 6 – Steel Pavilion. 

Construction site visit to Yangcheng Lake Visitor Centre (Kengo Kuma). 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 

Christiane M. Herr 


219 

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 designing and building of largescale 

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 teamworking 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. 



027 

028 

ARC108 

Construction and Materials 


Fan Jiawei | 范家玮 

Level 1 



2.5 

Module Leader 

Li-An Tsien 

Teaching Assistants 

Adam Brillhart 

Marco Cimillo 

Davide Lombardi 

Lina Stergiou 

Richard Hay 


227 

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. This module 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. The course is 

taught through lectures, seminars and practical exercises. In the lectures 

technical materials and construction principles are taught in relation to 

the broader architectural implications of sustainability, aesthetics and 

technology. Key concepts are critically discussed and reviewed through 

case studies and visual examples during the seminars. For the applied 

exercises students work in groups to design and build scale models of 

insulated cabana shelters during seminars and applied exercises. 

The aim of the module is 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 and environment within 

the discipline of architectural design. Awareness and understanding 

of construction principles helps students to translate their design ideas 

into buildable, innovative concepts through detailed representation 

techniques. Lectures foster and encourage awareness of construction 

issues pertaining to global and local future trends. Group works nurture 

an understanding of the interdisciplinary quality of the architecture 

discipline, and of the constraints brought by, sometimes, large 

collaborative efforts. 



029 

Wang Shuting | 王舒婷 

Liu Yueya | 刘玥雅 

030 


031 

Lin Wei | 林蔚 

Wu Yubang | 吴煜邦 

032 


Gu Yu | 古钰

033 

034 

COLLAGE 

Haoning Zhang 

ARC101 

Design Studio 

Design Thinking and Articulation 


PARTI COLLAGE 

Jiawei Fan | 范家玮 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 

Peta Carlin 

Teaching Team 

Peta Carlin 

Bert de Muynck 

Junjie Xi 


Tordis Berstrand 

Yiping Dong 

Antonio Berton 

Dirk Zschunke 

Ercument Gorgul 


Joan Cane 

Jue Qiu 

Liang Xu 

Julian Ramirez Rentero 

Nicola Pagnano 

Teo Hidalgo Nacher 

Xiani Wang 

Yiting Pan 


220 

Between Body and Building: Experiments in 

Architecture 

This first design studio in the undergraduate degree programme 

introduces students to the fundamental relationship between body and 

building. Students are initiated into the richness of this analogy through 

a series of cumulative exercises which reveal a number of architecture’s 

key conceptual, theoretical and material foundations. Correlations 

between façade and mask, and typology and character feature, as does the 

association between a group of people coming together and the formation 

of an enclosure, along with the demarcation of space and its significance 

in establishing a place through considerations of a variety of situations and 

their setting. Emphasising the research-led and human-centred nature 

of architectural design, conceptions and representations of space are 

investigated through material explorations, with the twice-weekly studio 

tutorials supported by a series of lectures and integrated workshops. 

At the outset, students establish groups and are assigned a specific set of 

characters, with role-playing used to explore the relationship between 

individual users, as well as between designers and users. In the first 

exercise, students design an individual bodily adornment, followed by 

group-work in which an enclosure for three people is designed at 1:1 scale. 

This is presented at an architectural picnic staged in week two of the 

semester which includes a range of activities and forms of documentation. 

In the following two exercises, the students work individually between 

scales of 1:20 and 1:100, undertaking translations between models and 

drawings, exploring relationships between solid and void, and between 

activities and designed space. The final exercise encourages the students 

to reinterpret the book as both an object and as a site of exhibition in itself. 

Carefully selecting examples of work produced during the course of the 

semester, including drawings, models, process-work and research, the 

compilation is accompanied by a brief text. The resultant Design Books 

are conceptual and well-crafted, presenting and illustrating narratives that 

are imaginative, analytical, and reflective in tone. 



035 

036 

BODY-BUILDING 

CHARACTER-TYPE 

Yingying Shen 

BODY-BUILDING 


Lu Song 


BODY-BUILDING 


Feijie Guo 

BODY-BUILDING 


Cheng Runhao 

BODY-BUILDING 


Zhixin Deng

037 

038 

BODY-BUILDING 

ENCLOTHE-ENCLOSE 

Zhang Boran 


BODY-BUILDING 


Liu Yichang 

BODY-BUILDING 


Ying Chen 

BODY-BUILDING 


Yingying Shen 

BODY-BUILDING 


Zhixin Deng

039 

040 


SOLID-VOID 

Li Yurui | 李禹锐 

SOLID-VOID 

Zhixin Deng

041 

042 


SOLID-VOID 

Yingying Shen 

SOLID-VOID 

Liu Yichang

043 

044 


SPACE-TIME 

Fan Jiawei 

SPACE-TIME 

Cheng Runhao

045 

046 


DESIGN BOOK 

Yurui Li 

DESIGN BOOK 

Ying Chen 

DESIGN BOOK 

Zhixin Deng

047 

048 

ARC105 

Design Studio 

Small Space Design 


Lin Zhaoyuan, House for Mr. Melon Seed, Section Collage. 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 

Peta Carlin 



Junjie Xi 


Dirk Zschunke 



Joan Cane 

Jue Qiu 


Liang Xu 



Xiani Wang 

Yiting Pan 

Dong Chen 

Yiwen Zhang 


221 

ARC105 Small Space Design is the second studio module in the Bachelor 

programme. It runs for the second half of semester 1 for seven weeks. 

For this year’s ARC105 entitled “A House in Wonderland, or a Guardian 

of Dreams” the students undertook first steps in designing architecture. 

They designed a house for one of the characters from the famous novel 

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. 

Students were guided to approach architectural design through an 

experimental and conceptual approach, and to present their proposals 

effectively by employing visual communication in a variety of media, 

including standard architectural drawing. The students developed 

a sensibility for the desires and necessities of inhabitants and the 

possibilities of architecture to frame but not limit; to produce and 

present conceptual design ideas as the basis for creative processes, and 

to engage in form development and experimentation as part of design 

practice. 



049 

Chen Xuanyang | 陈宣仰 

050 


051 

052 


Feng Leilin | 冯蕾霖

053 

Lin Zhaoyuan | 林赵圆 

054 


055 

056 


Mu Hongyuan | 穆宏源

057 

058 


Wei Wenxin | 魏文欣

059 

060 


Chen Ying | 陈颖

061 

062 

ARC102 

Design Studio 

Rediscovery of Learning for the 

Elderly 


Scenario Imagination, by student Yubang Wu. 

Scenarios on the final design proposal, by student Yubang Wu. 

Level 1 



10 

Module Leader 

Jiawen Han 

Teaching Team 

Jiawen Han (module coordinator) 

Peta Carlin (year coordinator) 



Junjie Xi 

Lina Stergiou 

Jing Yang 


Yiwen Zhang 

Qiu Jue 

Lorenzo Acciai 

Ecrument Gorgolc 

Teo Nacher 

Liwen Zhu 


Xiani Wang 

Liang Xu 


Darcy Chang 

Nan Ye 

Teaching Assistant 

Nan Ye 


225 

Suzhou's population has been ageing rapidly. The spaces and architecture 

that cater to the elderly should give them more self-confidence, social 

connections, and vitality. Such designs have been extremely inadequate 

in China. Learning plays an important role in active ageing; lifelong 

learning enables elderly people to maintain the quality of their lives 

by enhancing their self and coping areas of physical health and social 

relationship. 

This design studio is primarily concerned with the ageing population, 

who prefer to spend most of their time in their own neighbourhoods. 

At the same time, students also reflect on how to improve the elderly’s 

engagement with other age groups, especially with children. In other 

words, the studio creates more links between people who would not 

otherwise connect with each other through learning. 

Learning is a core for active ageing. Yet for the elderly, participation in 

and engagement with learning activities are difficult in Suzhou and in 

China. The studio design is to reflect and create optimal conditions for 

learning activities with spaces that address the primary concerns of 

the elderly and also invite users of all ages to learn, exercise, play, and 

meditate. 



063 

064 

YOUTH 

Wu Yubang | 吴煜邦 


065 

066 


EXPLANATION OF PERSPECTIVE VIEW 

Lin Zhaoyuan | 林赵圆

067 

068 


THE POETICS OF GARDEN SPACE 

Fan Jiawei | 范家玮

069 

070 


REDISCOVERY OF 

LEARNING AND COMMUNITY 

FOR ELDERLY 

Yao Yiming | 姚艺铭

071 

072 

HIDING IN NATURE 

Xu Xiaotong | 许晓彤 


SITE ANALYSIS 

Chen Ying | 陈颖

073 

074 

ELDERLY CENTER 

Guo Yefei | 郭烨非 


075 

076 

LEVEL 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) 



077 

078 

ARC203 

History of Asian Architecture 

DAY 2 - Baoguo Monastry 

DAY 2 - Qing'an Guild Hall Theater 


DAY 3 - Hangzhou Phoenix Mosques 

DAY 4 - CAA Folk Art musuem with Wangxin 

DAY 3 - Liuhe Pagoda Group Photo 

DAY 4 - Imperial Street Shelter 

DAY 5 - Tadao Ando Liangzhu Art Gallery Group Phote 

DAY 6 - Dongziguan New village 

DAY 5 - Wencun New Building 

DAY 6 - Dongziguan Village Guide 

DAY 5 - Wencun New Village 

DAY 6 - Shenao Village Image 

Field Trip to Zhejiang Province, 2017. Photograph by Milan Ognjanović 

Level 2 



5 

Module Leader 

Yiping Dong 

Teaching Team 


Glen Wash 

Jiawen Han 

Raffaele Pernice(UPD) 

Guest Speakers 

Yiting Pan 

Xin Wang 

Li Shen 

Shulan Fu 

Ming Du 


Quanqing LU 


83 

History of Asian Architecture provides an introduction to Asian 

architecture with its associated technologies, cultural connections, urban 

settings and its development from ancient times to the contemporary age. 

It focuses on Chinese architectural history and its relationship to other 

areas in Asia, such as Indian and Japanese architecture. The module 

further briefly introduces the history of urban design and key concepts 

in historical Asian urban planning. The history of built architectural 

form is introduced with selected references to associated theoretical 

discourses. The module uses lectures and readings, case studies and 

field trips to explain key developments in Asian architectural and urban 

history. 

The students explored traditional urban structures, timber structures, 

vernacular settlements and earlier modernization architecture with 

a 5-night-6-day study trip in Zhejiang Province during the reading 

week (Oct.22-26, 2017). During the study trip, students visited Ningbo 

and Hangzhou as the key historic cities of Zhejiang and new rural 

village projects in Tonglu and Fuyang County. Apart from these, the 

students also visited a couple of modern buildings designed by famous 

contemporary architects such as Wang Shu, Zhang Lei, Tadao Ando, 

Kengo Kuma and David Chipperfield. 

A series on-site lectures delivered by Module leader and guests from 

Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University of Technology and CAA built a 

clear connection between the historical data and the reality for students 

and tutors. 



079 

080 

ARC206 

Urban Studies 


Shanghai Future City, by Li Ziyi 

Level 2 



5 

Module Leader 

Juan Carlos Dall’ Asta 

Teaching Team 

Jose Angel Hidalgo Arellano 

Guest lectures 

Christian Gaenshirt 

Jiawen Han 


Glen Wash 


84 

Layered City: Toward a Sustainable City 

The main objective of the module is to promote an understanding of 

the forces that shape the human-made environment and the role played 

by design professionals. It aims to help students - as future designers 

- to understand that the city is a complex and dynamic system, and to 

stimulate their active thinking and positive responses to various urban 

phenomena. Students were introduced to appropriate strategies for 

the urban sustainability in order to effectively solve design problems. 

Through a series of lectures on urban history, case studies, design 

theories and methodologies, this module aimed to enhance students’ 

awareness of the nature of cities and the formation and transformation 

of their urban conditions, as well as providing basic urban design skills. 

The module provided students with an introduction to key debates, 

terms, writings, ideas and spatial and social qualities in Urban Design. 

Theories and practical examples of city development - including global 

case studies were presented, in order to demonstrate how urban planning 

and architectural decisions can be better informed. The module thus 

engaged students in understanding the city as a dynamic, social system. 

The lectures stimulated students' creative engagement with their 

surroundings as well their ability to assess, appraise and critique various 

urban and cultural phenomena. The module covered examples including 

Barcelona, Brasilia, Rome, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, Tokyo, 

amongst others. 



081 

082 

ARC201 

Environmental Design and 

Sustainability 


Chenwei Ye, Office daylighting design 

Level 2 



5 

Module Leader 

Marco Cimillo 


Xi Chen 


83 

The way that buildings are designed and built is key to sustainable 

development, especially in a fast urbanising country such as today’s 

China. Other than being among the main responsible for greenhouse 

gases emissions, buildings are major consumers of energy and natural 

resources. Up to two thirds of their final performance depend on basic 

architectural decisions, such as form, orientation and percentage of 

glass. We spend up to 90% of our time indoors, and our comfort, health, 

productivity and well-being are heavily affected by the environmental 

conditions inside buildings. Awareness and competence on these issues 

are an essential part of the skill set of a contemporary designer. 

This module addresses environmental quality, energy efficiency and 

sustainability in architecture. The topics cover a general introduction 

to the environmental and climate issues and how they affect and are 

affected by the built environment, in addition to human comfort and 

energy efficiency in buildings. 

Students learn theories and methods to understand, design and assess 

daylighting, natural ventilation, passive heating and cooling, as well 

as methods to develop strategies for building services and integrated 

renewable energy production. Sustainability is also studied from a wider 

perspective, giving consideration to the entire life cycle of buildings and 

to the international assessment methods. 



083 

084 

ARC202 

Structural Design 


Design review at RFR Structural Engineering Shanghai. 

Photograph by Christiane M. Herr. 

Pedestrian bridge for the XJTLU Campus. 

Elevation by Zhihan Wang, Rendering by Yixiu Shang. 

Level 2 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 



45 

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, considering engineering values of efficiency and utility 

alongside architectural values concerning human experience and spatial 

quality. In this module, structural design is approached primarily through 

intuitive visual as well as digital means, focusing on the integration 

of structural and programmatic patterns, scales and proportions in 

structural layouts. Lectures are accompanied by applied structural 

design exercises and advanced digital design tutorials. In the first half 

of the module, students produce structural design proposals addressing 

pedestrian bridges, which integrate architectural with structural design 

concerns. In the second half, students develop structural concepts for 

their design studio projects. As part of this module, 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 field trips, construction site visits and guest lectures / reviews 

by internal and external engineers and architects. This year the module 

was taught in collaboration with RFR Shanghai, who contributed lectures 

as well as detailed design reviews in the RFR Shanghai office. 



085 

086 

ARC205 

Design Studio 

Design and Building Typology 


Drawing by Ye Chengwei 

Level 2 



10 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 

Philip Fung 

Jiawen Han 

Teresa Hoskyns 

Aleksandra Raonic 

Lina Stergiou 


Li-An Tsien 

Guest Critics 

Hu Ying 

Tian Zhen 

Frederic Boreder 


84 

Sustainable Housing for a Better Living 

Contemporary housing design has to correctly address the complex 

web of human necessities and desires in order to produce a better 

quality of life and therefore enhanced social conditions. Sustainable 

housing was interpreted by students in multiple modes: urban, social, 

and technological. Consequently, strategies aimed at preserving culture, 

encouraging social interaction, and building a sense of community. 

Further the brief emphasised the importance of exploring solutions 

where open spaces can be more ecologically responsive in relation 

to water conservation and retention, and the use of solar shading and 

natural ventilation for summer cooling. Rather than developing a design 

that might contain a large palette of available “sustainability techniques,” 

the students were instead required to develop and understand the most 

effective concepts of sustainability. 

One of the key aims for students was to provide socially sustainable 

design solutions to foster spontaneous relationships between the 

inhabitants dwelling in communal areas. Nowadays, in many residential 

developments, in China as well as abroad, there is little consideration of 

the relationship between private and public common spaces. Considering 

this relationship was fundamental in order for students to propose 

a design that engendered a vibrant social life for future inhabitants. 

Chinese traditional architecture has long fostered social interactions 

between inhabitants through the use of courtyards. Students reflected 

on how to re-consider this tradition. Their designs provided public spaces 

at various scales and types for social interaction, as well as comfortable 

private spaces. 



087 

Ye Chenwei | 叶宸维 

088 


089 

090 


Wang Hongmeng | 王鸿蒙

091 

092 


Cui Qichen | 崔琦琛

093 

Zhou Yili | 周依黎 

094 


095 

096 


Yao Yuzheng | 姚羽筝

097 

098 

ARC204 

Design Studio 

Small Urban Buildings 


A bridge-building proposal by Louis Kahn 

(Palazzo dei Congressi, Venice. 1968-1974) 

Level 2 



10 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 



Dong Cheng 

Yiping Dong 

Richard Hay 

Teo Hidalgo 

Sofia Quiroga Fernandez 


Marco Cimillo (floating tutor) 


85 

“Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone,'But which is the stone 

that supports the bridge?' Kublai Khan asks. 'The bridge is not supported 

by one stone or another,' Marco answers, 'but by the line of the arch that 

they form.' Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: 'Why do 

you speak to me of the stones? It is only the arch that matters to me.' Polo 

answers: 'Without stones, there is no arch.” 

Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (1972) 

“(A bridge is) not truly a bridge while men do not cross it. 

A bridge is a man crossing a bridge.” 

Julio Cortázar, A Manual for Manuel (1973) 

Italo Calvino poetically explains that a bridge is defined by the 

controversy between the autonomy of its different parts and the overall 

strategy that organizes these parts into a whole. This idea of a reciprocal 

connection between the parts and the whole is one of the deepest 

characteristics of architecture. In architecture, addition is not just a 

sum of parts but a synergetic cooperation between them in the search 

of a much broader aim. In the case of bridges, this cooperation becomes 

vital in various conditions. Firstly, bridges are singular structures 

where every part has an essential role in the functioning of the whole. 

Secondly, bridges provide a special human experience based on the 

idea of conquering the other side. As Cortazar reminds us, a bridge’s 

idiosyncrasy is based on the fact of the person crossing it, a singular 

circumstance of inhabitation that is concretized through the defeat of 

reaching the other side. Lastly, bridges are socially motivated through 

the desire of interconnecting communities and extending neighborhoods 

in more effective ways. In the English dictionary, the composed word 

bridge-building means “the efforts to establish communications and 

friendly contacts between people in order to make them friends or 

allies”. 



099 

100 


BRIDGE BUILDING 

IN SHANTANG 

Li Qianru | 李倩茹

101 

102 


COLONIZE THE SHANTANG STREET 

Chen Fanyun | 陈凡云

103 

104 


LAYERING 

Cui Qichen | 崔琦琛

105 

106 


BRIDGE BUILDING ON SHANTANG RIVER 

Yu Xinning | 郁歆宁

107 

108 


LIVINGTHEATRE 

Shang Yixiu | 尚奕秀

109 

110 


SHANTANG SMALL PUBLIC BUILDING SYSTEM 

He Yuxin | 何昱欣

111 

112 

LEVEL 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) 



113 

114 

Algorithmic shape generation 

Hanzhi Gao, Houzhe Zhang, Zhuoying Wu 

ARC301 

Architectural Technology 


Algorithmic geometric study 

Siwei Zhu, Sizhou Li, Jingying Lin 

Radiance analysis and panelling proposal 

Ouli Tu, Jiayi You, Jieyu Wang, Lincheng Zhou 

Level 3 



5 

Module Leader 



37 

History demonstrates that every advance in architectural design is 

strictly related with advances in the field of technology. From Egyptian 

to contemporary architecture the main goal has always been of 

increasing the building’ performance, be it an aesthetic, energetic or 

structural one, through the combination of new materials and shapes, 

and consequently pushing the boundaries of Architecture. 

This performance has been determined and evaluated over the 

preceding centuries using analogue models to simulate forms as well as 

physical behaviours, and through drawings to prefigure the outcome of a 

whole building, and/or small parts of it. 

Since digital tools have come to inform the discipline of architecture, 

the focus has progressively shifted from manual or digital drawing to 

digital simulation. New theoretical approaches have resulted in the 

introduction of simulation into the design stage, changing the classical 

design paradigm, based on the addition of elements, resulting in a new 

strategy based on the inter-articulation of different components. 

This computational design workflow, enables designers to increase 

the level of complexity of their research, implementing the idea of 

technological performance and retrieving new data to improve their 

proposals. Within this framework, architectural technology and 

computational design are joined to explore new solutions and processes 

through a holistic approach. The aim of the module is to provide an 

overview of the potential of technology and computational strategies as 

a means to transform dreams in consistent proposals. 



115 

116 

ARC303 

Architectural Theory 


ARC303 Seminar on Suzhou 

Photo Christian Gänshirt 

Level 3 



5 

Module Leader 


Jiawen Han 

Teaching Team 

Patrick Hubbuck 

Karissa Kilgore (Language Center) 


37 

It has been said that “there is no architecture without theory” (Patrick 

Schumacher). As a consequence, Architectural Theory critically reflects 

on written discourses in and about architecture, in order to deepen and 

enhance students’ understanding of the thinking that underpins the 

discipline. 

A series of lectures, accompanied by weekly readings, alternating 

between a Chinese and a European point of view, introduced students 

to the main concepts of architectural theory, and provided a framework 

for the understanding of the on-going nature of discourse in the 

field. Themes and topics of the lectures initially addressed historical 

debates, such as the role and development of theory in architecture, 

the question of style, and the historical foundations of modernity, and 

later, the criticism of high modernism, the rise of postmodern and poststructural 

theory, critical regionalism and architectural criticism, as 

well as contemporary discussions, and the mutual influence of Asian and 

Western conceptions of architecture. 

Further areas of dialogue and debate responded to interest articulated by 

students and/or faculty members. Two research seminars accompanied 

the lectures, of which the students chose one. Each year the themes 

and topics of the seminars vary. This year, one seminar focused on the 

writings of Wang Shu, the other explored Suzhou as a basis for proposing 

a new theoretical discourse. The main task in the seminars is for the 

students to conduct their own research within the given thematic 

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

seminar sessions, and 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. 



117 

118 

ARC306 

Professional Practice 


Selection of slides taken from students presentations. Presentation International Cooperation. Students: Zhang Yingqi 

Level 3 



5 

Module Leader 

Sofía Quiroga Fernández 

Guest Speakers 

Philip Fung 

Christian M. Herr 

Jiawen Han 

Paco Mejias 

Gisela Loehlein 

Richard Olweny 

Michael Crittendon (Interior 

Designer) 

Tao Wang (GF Greenberg and Farrell) 

Christina Luk (LUK architects) 

Alton P. Chow (AIA - American 

Institute of Architects Vice President 

and Managing Director - Central 

China of AECOM) 


Mengjia He (PLAYZE Architects)Liang 

Xu (CONCOM studio) 

Theo Nacher (ECADI - East China 

Architectural Design & Research 

Institute) 


37 

There are many different forms of architectural practice and many 

methods of practising architecture. This course examines diverse 

international and Chinese practices opportunities for students 

completing part 1 of their architectural training, ranging from starting 

your own office to working in large-scale mainstream practices; to 

small-scale interdisciplinary and research led practices, in order to give 

students the scope and tools to begin to formulate their own approach to 

architectural practice. 

The Professional Practice module examines the professional tools and 

technical skills required for procuring and delivering architectural 

projects. The course includes a range of professional inter-relationships 

of individuals & organisations and how they are defined through 

contractual and organisational structures. These include: the legal, 

professional and statutory responsibilities of the architect in the 

construction of the built environment; the role of the architect on 

the construction team and the potential impact of architecture on 

communities; as well as fundamental management theories required in 

managing both an architectural practice and architecture projects. We 

also studied the necessary business skills, including starting your own 

business, cost control management and the financial factors implied 

in varying construction systems. Students develop an awareness of 

how architecture practices operate, an understanding of organisations, 

regulations and procedures in design and construction, including 

planning procedure, land law, developmental control, building control, 

accessibility and health and safety. Students researched how to develop 

a project in different countries, international cooperation, and social 

projects, giving a seminar presentation on their findings. Through the 

research, the students have studied the professional interrelationships of 

individuals & organisations in procuring and delivering projects and how 

they are defined through contractual and organisational structures, as 

well as the regulations and procedures in different countries. 

This academic year the professional guest speakers have been an 

essential part of the ARC 306 module, making possible to share with 

the students their real background concerning the actual professional 

practice. 



119 

120 

ARC308 

Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics 


Field Trip to the Nam June Paik exhibition at the How Museum, 2018. 

Photograph by Claudia Westermann. 

Level 3 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 


Guest Theme 



Yaqin Zuo 


37 

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 ‘The Potentiality of 

Absence in Art and Architecture’ with a specifically designed series of 

lectures and seminars, addressing notions of absence 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 exhibition 

“Walking on the Fade Out Lines” in the Rockbund Art Museum, as well as 

the exhibition “Lettres du Voyant” in the How Museum, showing works 

of Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik, offered additional opportunities for 

reflection on key positions in art. 



121 

122 

ARC305 

Design Studio 

Small and Medium Scale Buildings 


Level 3 



10 

Teaching Team 

Glen Wash Ivanovic (module leader) 

Sofía Quiroga 

José Á. Hidalgo 



38 

Architecture and Identity: prospects for future 

Shanghai 

Now that the swift and unprecedented Chinese urbanization process is 

slowing down we can see the results, achievements and consequences 

of this development more clearly. The urgent process, centrally fueled 

and controlled, aimed to rapidly urbanize a country by doing it bigger 

and faster is now shifting, and issues which were ignored in favor of 

the urgency of urbanization are starting to arise; somehow, during the 

miraculous years of growth, something was lost. 

The need for recovering and strengthening Chinese identity was then 

centrally promoted and fueled, generally stating that identity was 

contained by and generated from tradition. The idea of “traditional 

Chinese” is applied very loosely, and it seems to refer to any customs, 

forms and aesthetics from before the establishment of the People’s 

Republic of China. Now we see inane replicas of “traditional buildings” 

being built, new villas following a western layout yet decorated in 

traditional Chinese style. Identity appears to be rooted only in a past that 

seems to be artificially brought back and imposed. 

Could we think otherwise? Can modern architecture actually provide, 

change or enrich identity? This studio provided four different briefs, 

inviting students to explore the explored the unique opportunities 

that the ongoing modernization process have to offer for reflecting, 

discussing and designing contemporary identity by engaging in a series 

of architectural interventions and transformations in Shanghai’s Pudong. 



123 

124 

Bai Yuxin | 白雨馨 


125 

Huang Yifei | 黄逸飞 

126 


127 

128 


Xia Jianqiang | 夏坚强

129 

Yu Yulin | 俞裕林 

130 


131 

Zhang Houzhe | 张厚哲 

132 


133 

134 

ARC304 

Design Studio 

Final Year Project 


Setting up the Degree Show, 

June 2018, Department of Architecture, XJTLU. 

Photograph by Christian Gänshirt. 

Level 3 

( Year 4 | Semester 1 and 2 ) 


10 

Module Leader 

José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano 

Teaching Team 


Bert De Muynck 

Philip Fung 




Li-An Tsien 

Glen Wash 

Guest Critics 

Jianfei Zhu 

(University of Melbourne) 

Darren Zhou 

(Skew Collaborative) 

Eva García Pascual 

(Aura Shanghai) 

James Lew 

(Greenberg Farrow, Shanghai) 

Zhao Deli 

(Zai-Zao Architecture / China 

Academy of Arts, Hangzhou) 


37 

The Final Year Project Studio is the last studio module in the course of 

the BEng Architecture degree at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. 

The framework of the FYP Studio module is set to ensure a diversity of 

approaches to Architectural Design, allowing for parallel briefs which 

are defined to a greater extent by the students themselves. 

In 2017-2018, four briefs were offered which were framed as initiations, 

guiding students to discover questions on the edge of current discourse 

in Architectural Design, requiring them to develop contextually 

responsive architectural propositions that integrate social, cultural, 

technical, and environmental knowledge at an advanced level in their 

resolution. 

The four briefs written for this year’s final year studio responded in 

various ways to the challenges that Architecture is confronted with in 

China and beyond. They open a conversation on Architecture that is 

necessarily reframed and redefined by the students in the course of 

their research and design process. Each brief requires students to design 

buildings that respond to specific urban and socio-cultural conditions, 

with emphasis placed on social values and the centricity of human needs 

and desires. 

On the basis of their proposal and the development of a coherent design 

process, students were required to demonstrate an understanding 

of architecture informed by inter-dependent cultural, historical, 

technological and contextual issues. The studio module actively 

encouraged students to embrace a culture of risk and experimentation, 

but at the same time required them to fully resolve their projects 

responding to human, technical and environmental needs. 



135 

136 

BRIEF A 

Vertical Suzhou, Change & Growth 


This FYP design studio is set up as an experimental studio, addressing 

the issue of mass housing through architectural design. The experimental 

set-up is defined by two spatial conditions which currently define the 

course of the contemporary Chinese city: the first, the tendency towards 

horizontal urban expansion; and, the second, vertical architectural 

growth. This design studio thus calls into question what happens when 

we combine the urban and architectural concepts and qualities of both 

spatial evolutions (vertical and horizontal) in an innovative way through 

the incorporation of landscape design at both levels. 

The classical Chinese gardens of Suzhou represent a radical challenge to 

the Western understanding of architecture, dwelling and organization. 

Conventionally called gardens, they were originally highly cultivated 

places in which people lived. Conceivably, they can be considered as a 

house, the rooms of which have been taken apart and distributed within 

a garden, connected by covered, half-open corridors named long. The 

buildings themselves are punctuated by openings, from tiny light wells 

to courtyards. The most important structures are carefully arranged 

around a larger open space, often with a pond at its core. Here, the 

Western dichotomy of culture versus nature, of the object-like house 

versus the surrounding garden has been dissolved by an integration 

seeking to balance both elements. 

The principal design task of this studio is to rethink the concept of 

modern high-rise housing from the point of view of the Classical 

Chinese garden, seeking to provide a different type of space for living, 

with a better local microclimate. Starting with the analysis of one of 

the gardens, architectural principles were identified, evaluated and 

eventually translated into contemporary architectural forms. In parallel, 

research focused on high-rise architecture with strong relations to 

vegetation and/or open space, from Le Corbusier’s Immeuble Villa 

and Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat through to recent projects 

by Sou Fujimoto, Amateur Architecture Studio, Roberto Burle Marx, 

Piet Oudolf, Thomas Heatherwick and Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale 

(Milan) and his projected “vertical city” for the Chinese city of Liuzhou 

(in planning). 

TEACHING TEAM 


Bert De Muynck 

VERTICAL GARDEN 

Zhang Houzhe | 张厚哲

137 

138 

VERTICAL GARDEN 

Zhang Houzhe | 张厚哲 


139 

140 

AWAKENED SEASONS 

Gao Hanzhi | 高含之 


141 

142 


STORIES IN-BETWEEN SHANSHUI 

Wu Zhuoying | 吴卓颖

143 

144 

BRIEF B 

Fast City / Slow City 

TRACING THE CITY 

Zou Yina | 邹依娜 


This studio explored how the ‘spectacle’ impacts on notions of ‘fast 

city’ and ‘slow city’ and how these concepts can be applied to the 

central station district of Shanghai. ‘Fast city’ refers to transport links 

and communication as well as the general acceleration of the urban 

condition. Alternatively, ‘slow city’ is about the former unity of life, the 

concept describing a sustainable approach to urban development that 

focuses on local production, local economy and the unique historical 

context of a town. Students critically reflected on the two concepts in 

order to formulate the direction of their proposals. 

Continuing interrogations raised by Guy Debord, the studio questioned 

our urban habits, the media through which we express and perceive 

ourselves, as well as our urban borders, from a visual, spatial and 

temporal standpoint. 

These investigations, the studio proposed, may in turn lead us to change 

the way we envision the physical boundaries of the spaces around us, 

through integrating notions of fluidity, superimposition, distortion, etc. 

into students’ designs, thus “stripping back space and time from the 

realm of spectacle and returning it to the world of human interaction” 

(R. Zaretsky, in Trump and the ‘Society of the Spectacle’, New York 

Times, Feb. 20 2017). 

In so doing, students were encouraged to critically examine how the 

screen, in its various contemporary forms, as a means to see, to be 

seen, receive and transmit information, has assumed an increasingly 

prominent role in both public and private lives, considering the impact it 

has on the urban appropriation of space and time. 

TEACHING TEAM 


Li-An Tsien

145 

146 


TRACING THE CITY 

Zou Yina | 邹依娜

147 

148 

BRIEF C 

Meeting Calamities: Buildings that Morph 

KEEP A RENDEZVOUS 

Feng Xueyang | 冯雪妍 


Japanese cities and architecture have been adapting in response 

to earthquakes; demanding the use of certain materials, advancing 

sophisticated construction techniques, determining building heights and 

urban densities, and fueling the pursuit of new technologies in order to 

attenuate the potential damage and casualties which strong earthquakes 

generate. 

The last great Tohoku earthquake showed that the role of architecture 

when confronting earthquakes and calamities is not only integral to the 

event itself but also to its aftermath. The studio thus called into question 

how can we think of buildings that not only withstand earthquakes, but 

also how can earthquakes provide us with a timely opportunity to adapt 

and evolve in the face of them. 

With a focus on new types of public institutions, students were asked 

to design buildings that morph in the event of an earthquake, changing 

both their function and physical form in order to assist and relieve the 

affected population. In short, the studio explored the idea of buildings 

that can change indefinitely, becoming not only a temporary solution 

but, in some cases, a definitive one. 

At the same time, this project invited students to reflect on the 

relationship between Chinese and Japanese architecture and their 

different approach to how cities should be built. Both countries are 

undeniably connected, having influenced each other over centuries. 

While Japanese architecture is always alert and insightful about the 

issues affecting its built environment, foreigners’ eyes can offer a 

different and valuable perspective. In this light, students were asked 

to be aware of the potential opportunity for further exploring and 

advancing the architectural relationship between China and Japan. 

TEACHING TEAM 


Glen Wash

149 

150 


KEEP A RENDEZVOUS 

Feng Xueyang | 冯雪妍

151 

152 


SEASONAL LIFE 

阴晴圆缺 

Huang Yifei | 黄逸飞

153 

154 


BLOSSOMING GATE 

Tu Ouli | 涂欧犁

155 

156 

URBAN LANTERNS 

Xia Jianqiang | 夏坚强 


157 

158 

BUDDHISM IN BLOOM: 

FROM INCOMPLETENESS TO 

COMPLETENESS 

Zhou Lincheng | 周麟丞 


159 

160 

BRIEF D 

Vertical Community in Hong Kong 

VERTICAL STREET 

IN HONG KONG 

垂直都市 

Bai Yuxin | 白雨馨 


Hong Kong is famous for its hyper-density with shortage of land 

resulting in great efficiencies in spatial planning. Typically, the creation 

of different levels is achieved through the stacking up of volumes. While 

vertical construction is one way to realise an increased efficiency in 

land usage and livable density, in the past, horizontality prevailed, with 

villages, houses and plazas occupying predominantly the same plane. 

This studio called into question how communal life has changed or 

evolved in response to vertical living; how people, as a consequence, live 

differently; and, what impact does this have on communal life which 

now occurs at multiple levels. 

The project aimed to address the complex paradoxes between Density, 

Verticality and Community. The program was defined by students 

and asked them to consider a mix of housing, markets, shopping malls, 

temples, prisons and/or fitness centres. At least 40% of the space needed 

to be assigned to housing. Students studied the specific site context at 

the centre of Hong Kong, with land use, living habits, and consumption 

patterns. Students, in response, were required to develop new typologies 

that addressed complex issues relating to programming, public/private 

spaces and circulation. 

Students were also expected to reflect on their research design 

processes at three different scales: 1. The urban scale: relating the city 

life to the new proposal and emphasizing the dialogue with the site; 2.The 

building scale, focusing on relationships between the skyline, basement, 

lower floors and streets, in order to creating a whole community in 

which all areas are related in terms of function, space and life; and, 3. 

The unit scale focusing on at least one detailed housing/dwelling unit, 

with attention paid to materiality, the qualities of the space in response 

the domestic programme. 

TEACHING TEAM 

Philip Fung 

José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano

161 

162 


VERTICAL STREET 

IN HONG KONG 

垂直都市 

Bai Yuxin | 白雨馨

163 

164 


THE PAUSE – MICRO CITY 

INSIDE OF MEGACITY 

Li Sizhou | 李四周

165 

166 

ROOTING IN THE AIR 

Yu Yulin | 俞裕林 


167 

168 

CIRCULATION AS LIFE 

Zhu Siwei | 朱思为 


169 

170 


B ENG 

ARCHITECTURAL 

ENGINEERING 

PROGRAMME 

INTRODUCTION 

The Bachelor of Architectural Engineering is a new programme 

run by the Department of Civil Engineering at XJTLU. It provides 

students opportunities to specialize in aspects of engineering 

centred on buildings and is professionally accredited by the JBM 

(Joint Board of Moderators), a UK based accreditation body for 

civil engineering. The Department of Architecture contributes 

four modules to the programme, of which one is shared with 

Architecture (ARC110), and three are provided specifically for the 

programme: ARC112 Architectural Technology and Innovation, 

ARC111 Integrated Design of Small Buildings and ARC207 Building 

Technology in Integrated Architectural Design. The modules 

are designed to introduce students of civil engineering to crossdisciplinary 

skills of teamworking, design thinking, crossdisciplinary 

understanding and innovating, and a broad skillset 

ranging from using various types of drawing to express and 

discuss ideas to historical background knowledge in the history 

of engineering and architecture. Two of the modules are studio 

modules, where students learn in applied ways, often collaborating 

with architecture students in the design of buildings. 

Cheng Zhang 

Programme Director (Civil Engieenering) 


Programme Leader (Architecture) 

● 

● 

● 

ARC 111 Integrated Design of Small Buildings (5 credits) 

ARC 112 Architectural Technology and Innovation (5 credits) 

ARC 207 Building Typology in Integrated Architectural Design (5 

credits)

171 

172 

ARC111 

Integrated Design of 

Small Buildings 


ARC 111 Mai Haolin 

Floating house concept- middle floor is a open air terrace 

ARC 111 Shucheng Ge 

Model development for the floating house concept 

ARC 111 Shucheng Ge 

Explorative structural concept development sketches 

ARC 111 He Xin, structural model development of the floating upper floor and its structural and design resolution 

ARC 111 Mai Haolin 

Constructional / structural detail for his collaboration with an 

architecture student from ARC102 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 

Prof Gisela Loehlein 

Teaching Team 

Dr Christiane Herr 

Guest teacher 

Dr Carlos D’all Asta 


7 

In this studio module students learned to apply theoretical skills on 

materials and structural systems into a series of small buildings design 

exercises. The studio specifically addressed design skills suitable for 

engineering students, who learn about the integration of technical and 

architectural design requirements. Students were initially introduced 

to typical materials employed in architectural structures, including 

concrete, steel, timber and glass. Based on this knowledge, students 

learned to design with materials and structures in the spirit of an 

architectural design concept in a series of weekly design exercises. They 

explored model making skills on a series of assignments and examined 

their tectonic impact upon a structural design, exploring the relationship 

between the two fields. Students learned how to use model making as 

a design tool and not an end product in the design process. Following 

this stage, students were introduced to architectural site analysis and 

its impact upon design conception. Students worked with volunteering 

students from ARC 102, which is the architecture students’ parallel 

cohort, structural design solutions to a design and developed together 

along the guidelines of the brief the tectonic resolution of the design. 

Students collaborative design proposal should clearly demonstrate the 

process of design development from initial design conception to a final 

architectural design. The final proposal should demonstrate students’ 

ability to design a series of spaces using appropriate technical means to 

support architectural concepts and realization of architectural qualities. 

Design proposals should respond creatively to the site context as well 

as spatial, structural and technical requirements by the architectural 

design brief. 

The project work was developed through group and individual tutorials 

and presented for public discussions and reviews. As series of lectures 

and additional tutorials was provided by architectural engineers and 

architects. The final project design compiled together the assignments 

throughout the semester in a final folio submission. 

B Eng Architectural Engineering Programme

173 

174 

ARC112 

Architectural Technology and 

Innovation 


Structural Design Tutorial With Guest Engineer Theofanis Krevaikas. 


Haolin Mai: 

Conceptual Structural Design Process for a “Flying Box House”. 

Level 1 



5 

Module Leader 



4 

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. 


175 

176 

ARC207 

Building Typology in Integrated 

Architectural Design 


ChungYin Kwong 

Collaboration Project with Architecture student 

Level 2 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 

Philip Fung 


4 

High quality buildings are typically the result of carefully integrating a 

variety of factors, including both 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. This 

studio module encourages holistic thinking as well as the integration of 

technical and artistic concerns. A typology-oriented approach serves 

as a framework to explore the architecture, structure and construction 

of a specific building type based on in-depth research of typical case 

studies. As part of a holistic and cross disciplinary approach to design, 

the module encourages collaboration between architects and engineers 

already early on in the design process. 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 learn and build 

skills through critical thinking, analysis and research as well as through 

applied design. 


177 

178 

Ziming Zhao 

Case study wall section 


Collaboration Project Discussion 

ChungYin Kwong 

Sketches for structural

179 

180 


PRACTICE 

Most countries, including China, the UK and the US, require a 

minimum of two years of practical experience, in a registered 

architect’s office, to register as a fully qualified architect. Our 

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees have Royal Institute of British 

Architects (RIBA) part 1 and part 2 international validation and 

this qualifies our students to take the UK pathway to qualification 

as well as the Chinese pathway to become a class 1 registered 

architect. 

For those students who wish to gain work credentials in the UK 

and obtain registration with the UK Architects Registration Board 

(ARB). They will need to complete an RIBA part 3 examination and 

a minimum of 2 years practical experience. Students who do not 

wish to register in the UK can become a Chartered Member of the 

RIBA through taking the Part 3/MEAP examination. For this course 

they need to have completed 5 years post foundation education (with 

or without RIBA validation) and 2 years practical experience. 

The first practice year can be completed before the Part 2 

examination and at XJTLU we consider this period of work 

experience to be an important year of learning for intellectually 

understanding the workings of the construction industry. We 

(as well as the RIBA) consider it desirable and recommend our 

graduates to do their first year of practice after completing 

their undergraduate studies. For some of the most highly ranked 

professional postgraduate programmes worldwide it is mandatory to 

complete to the first practice year after the bachelor’s degree. 

Our Department has developed, and continues to develop, links 

with architectural firms, design institutes and industry as a way 

of engaging students with 'real-world' perspectives. My role as 

Professional Studies Advisor (PSA) is to work with employers and 

students in a joint effort to ensure the best possible professional 

development and experience for students. We will also advise 

employers and students on all aspects of professional experience, 

including commenting on matters such as salary levels and student 

capabilities. We support and monitor students work experience 

throughout the practice years. Graduates may ask the PSA or 

any other teacher in our department for advice on how to find 

such a position, or on how to monitor their years of practice. Our 

practice procedures are based on the UK PEDR, Professional 

Experience and Development Record (www.pedr.co.uk). The PEDR 

is a structured as a three-month record that must be verified by 

a suitably qualified employer and PSA within two months of the 

completion of the period. The PSA is responsible for reviewing the 

PEDR sheets quarterly and commenting on the breadth, scope and 

adequacy of the professional experience gained by the student. The 

RIBA provides guidance for students and employers on the PEDR 

website, and encourages students to gain experience either under 

the supervision of an architect or another qualified construction 

industry professional at this stage. 

Teresa Hoskyns, Professional Studies Advisor 

2017-2018

181 

182 


PLAT-ASIA Working Area. 

Photograph by C Company. 

Adjaye Associates New York, Office. 

Photograph by Adam Brillhart. 

PLAT-ASIA Bookshelves. 

Photograph by C Company. 

Adjaye Associates New York, Office. 

Photograph by Adam Brillhart.

183 

184 

PRACTICE 



After completing their BEng studies, our graduates now are qualified 

to work as RIBA part 1 Architectural Assistants, usually earning 

reasonable salaries. We recommend that students complete one year in 

practice before starting a Master’s degree. This year is not a gap year, 

as it counts towards the two years of practice experience required to 

become a fully qualified architect in the UK. For many students the 

first year in practice is a transformative experience, the first step into 

doing real architecture. 

We recommend our graduate students to work in a renowned, small 

or medium sized architectural practice (which are usually much more 

educative than the larger firms). Students who complete a practice 

year are well prepared to profit more from their studies when they 

join our Master’s programme the following year. For many Master’s 

programmes overseas one year of practice is a mandatory entry 

requirement. 

You may choose to work for longer than one year to save money or to 

gain additional experience. Other options include taking time out to 

work in the wider construction industry, work overseas, volunteer or 

travel. 

Practice 


185 

186 

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

time, professional postgraduate programme, delivering the learning 

outcomes as defined by the General Criteria and the Graduate 

Attributes to qualify for RIBA Part 2. It prepares students for two 

main purposes: to work as fully qualified professional architects; 

and as independent researchers, enabling them to undertake 

further post-graduate studies. Upon successful completion, an 

international Master of Architectural Design degree is awarded 

from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. 


MASTER OF 

ARCHITECTURAL 

DESIGN 

PROGRAMME 

INTRODUCTION 

After successfully concluding the two required RIBA validation 

visits, and with its first cohort of six graduating students, the 

programme was awarded unconditional RIBA Part 2 validation 

in February 2018, a first for a mainland Chinese university. The 

programme is also registered with and recognised by the Chinese 

Ministry of Education (MoE). 

The RIBA visiting board comprised of renowned architects and 

educators including: Professor David Dernie, Director of David 

Dernie Architects and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and 

the Built Environment, University of Westminster, London; Lilly 

Kudic, Head of Architecture at London South Bank University; and 

Xiaofeng Zhu, founder of Scenicarchitecture and Visiting Professor 

at Tongji University School of Architecture & Urban Planning, 

Shanghai. 

In its official report, the board confirmed that all Part 2 graduate 

attributes and all Part 2 criteria were met by the graduates. The 

board commended ‘the intention of the programme to provide a rich 

alternative to post-graduate provision in architecture within China’, 

the Department’s ‘extensive facilities, the design of the studios, 

digital equipment and in particular the materials library’ as well 

as ‘the engaged staff and student body and the low student/staff 

ratio that enables a focus on the learning pathways of individual 

students’, also commenting on the ‘evident improvement in studio 

outputs over the three initial cohorts’ of students. 

The visiting board also offered advice and recommended several 

action points or areas for improvement that we are now seeking 

to address. One key aim is to build on previous exchanges and 

workshops to forge more and deeper connections with other 

international schools of architecture. In order to address this, 

starting from next academic year, we are offering student exchanges 

with the MArch programme at the University of Liverpool. The first 

two exchange students from the Liverpool School of Architecture 

are expected to arrive in September 2018. 

The Masters programme reflects the unique geographical situation

187 

188 


of our university, which is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 

China. Being part of the metropolitan area of the Yangtze River 

delta, we continue to search 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-theart 

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 

creative and critical thinking skills. 

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. 

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. 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 their 

research interests and the expertise of their chosen tutors. 

The programme offers a progression pathway for architecture 

graduates from the Department’s BEngArch 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. 

At the end of the 2017/2018 academic year I handed the programme 

leadership over to Dr Christiane Herr, and wish her all the best for 

the future of the programme. 


2014-2018 Programme Director

189 

190 

LEVEL 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) 



ARC402 Advanced Professional Practice (5 credits) 

ARC404 Design Studio II (10 credits) 

ARC406 Topics in Architectural History (5 credits) 


M Arch Des 


191 

192 

ARC403 

Applied Technology in Architecture 


Daylight simulation of a proposed canopy by Daniela Marilu Pico Perez. 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 

Thomas Fischer 

Teaching Team 

Marco Cimillo 


12 

Applied Technology in Architecture introduces the mutually-challenging 

relationships between architecture and advanced technology, which 

have characterised architecture and construction throughout history. 

It examines and explores case studies of architectural impetus on 

technological innovation, as well as advanced technology applications in 

the design, representation, evaluation, project management, construction 

and operation of architectural projects. 

This module invites students to engage with a range of technologies 

and technological considerations in the design, construction and use of 

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

with demonstrations, discussions, tutorials, readings and exercise 

assignments. It is delivered in a variety of teaching modes, including 

lectures, seminars, workshops and group tutorials. Students complete 

several individual coursework assignments to practice digital design 

and representation techniques and subsequently assemble the works 

into an individual, integrated and technically oriented final report. The 

theme for the academic year 2017/2018 was glass and steel enclosures 

(roofs and canopies). During its first part, the module focused on the 

integration of architectural and technological concerns in the schematic 

design of a glass-clad enclosure structure with a steel load-bearing 

system. The second part of the module then extended the scope of the 

conceptual design by integrating façade technology and considerations 

of environmental impact and occupant comfort. 


M Arch Des Programme

193 

194 

ARC407 

Architectural Theory and Criticism 


A locked door in Wencun village. 

Photograph by Tordis Berstrand. 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Contributors: Yiping Dong 


Karissa J. Kilgore (LC) 


14 

(12 ARC students + 2 UPD students) 

The module introduces students to 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. This is not simply a call to build and 

make, it is an invitation to think again, critically, about the potential of 

built and imagined environments. 

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

intersection of architectural thinking and practice as a space where 

new ideas can be critically examined and discussed. Students read 

key texts and practice theory through in-class exercises, weekly 

coursework submissions, and a final essay. The ability to articulate 

an informed theoretical argument and stand up for one’s own ideas is 

rehearsed and practised as an integral part of the architect’s task. 

This year, the module focused on the notion of place – a term at the 

heart of architectural debates in our time. What is a place? How to 

design places? Have we lost our sense of place? In a time of flux and 

change, such questions become increasingly urgent. The students 

confronted profound meanings ascribed to the experience of this place 

in an attempt to locate themselves in the space between the known and 

the new. 



195 

196 

ARC402 

Advanced Professional Practice 


Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Guest speakers 

Richard Hayes 

Paco Mejias 


Visiting lectures 

Nuno Fontarra 

(Associate Partner, Mecanoo) 

Christina Luk (LUK architects) 

Alton P. Chow 

(American Institute of Architects 

(AIA) Vice President and Managing 

Director - Central China of 

AECOM) 


Mengjia He (PLAYZE Architects) 

Liang Xu (CONCOM studio) 


12 

This year Advanced Professional Practice used research led teaching 

methods to investigate the diverse meanings of professional practice 

in China and throughout the world. We particularly focused on 

international architectural practice in China, international firms 

operating in China and their collaborations with Chinese practices. 

The course was taught through combination of weekly visiting lectures 

of practitioners and staff, seminars and practice visits: For the seminars 

Students were required to do weekly readings on the different aspects 

of professional practice in China and actively engage in seminar 

discussions to develop a critical approach for their coursework. Students 

examined the diverse roles of the architectural professional for example, 

the social, public, and ethical responsibilities the architect and how 

these may change in different countries. The course introduced students 

to a framework of moral codes, good practice, building practices, 

construction management, contracts, costing and procurement models. 

For the coursework students were required to undertake detailed 

research into an architectural offices practicing in an international 

context to examine the responsibilities and challenges the architectural 

professional faces. The research led teaching techniques that involved 

students visiting architectural offices and sites to do original research, 

interview architects to develop case studies on diverse forms of practice. 

We were lucky to receive a Teaching Development Fund from the 

University that supported the extra activities of the module. 



197 

198 

ARC406 

Topics in Architectural History: 

Modern Architecture as a 

Transnational Discourse 


Great Hall of the People, Beijing 1959 

[ photo Paolo Scrivano ] 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 


Yiping Dong 

Jonathan Ford (LC) 


12 

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, history of migrations, 

and intellectual history. This increasing interest reflects the mounting 

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

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

academic level, but also through popular discourse. 

The module aimed 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, this seminar considered a narrative covering the 20th 

century but that, at times, included events that took place during the 18th 

and 19th centuries. The module 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. A particular focus was placed on the relation between Western 

and Asian architecture. 

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 engage with historical evidence beyond the brief’s bibliography, 

and to reflect on their own research methodologies. 



199 

200 

ARC405 

Design Studio 1 

A Soft Urban Regeneration in Suzhou 


Mengchuan Liu 

Diagrammatic map of the five sites, 

Interconnecting the subway stations and the waterway system. 

Level 4 



10 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 


Mengjia HE (part time teacher) 

Mengchuan Liu 

Jiang (Johnny) Dong 

Quanqing Lu (teaching assistants) 

Guest Reviewers 

Bing Lin (Shanghai) 

Bart Mahieu (Suzhou) 

Lei Sun 

(Planning Bureau, Gusu District) 

Christian Nolf 

Yiwen Wang 

(UPD Department, XJTLU) 


12 

The challenge for this design studio was to reflect on the architectural 

and urban effects produced by the arrival of new Subway lines in the 

centre of the old Suzhou, as an occasion to create new urban gates in 

relation with the specific identity of Suzhou as a water town. These new 

gates consider the idea to interconnect the pedestrian traffic generated 

by the subway stations, and the boat navigation on the historical canals. 

Urban sites were selected on the basis of the analysis of the possible 

interactions between the waterway system of Suzhou and the new 

subway network. Five stations along the subway lines 4 and 6, running in 

the direction north-south, that connected to the canals running in eastwest 

direction. were chosen. 

In terms of architectural experience the new Gate needed to be imagined 

as a place of transition between two different spaces and two different 

times: the “abstract” space of the subway tunnel to be associated with 

the time of the high-speed transportation, and the space of the historical 

city characterized by a slower and more relaxed time. The students were 

invited to explore freely the formal identity of these places of transition, 

but at the same time they had the possibility to reflect critically on two 

reference “types” of the Chinese architectural tradition: the Pavilion and 

the Courtyard. 

The designs were developed at two scales: urban design, in the first phase 

and architectural design, in the second phase. The students reflected on 

some innovative ways of considering the interpretation of traditional 

forms of living in the Chinese city. 



201 

202 

TRANSITION AS EXPERIENCE 

Daniela Pico Pérez 


203 

204 

Duan Yawen | 段雅文 


205 

206 

Wang Yitong | 王乙童 


207 

208 


Liu Zhaorui | 刘赵蕊

209 

210 

ARC404 

Design Studio 2 

2042–Networked Urban Towers 


Design Review at Atkins Shanghai Office. 


Studio Group Discussion About Masterplan Layout. 


Level 4 



10 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 


Marco Cimillo 

Yaqin Gong (Atkins) 

Eric Seymour (Atkins) 


12 

The second studio module in the MArch Des programme focuses on 

establishing and developing mutually inspiring relationships between 

technical and environmental requirements and design ideas. The studio 

addresses increasing systemic interdependencies of human habitation, 

built form, technology, society, natural and urban environments in 

contexts of high population density, as they are typically found in the 

fast-expanding cities of Asia. Design proposals must be based on a 

strong research background, which is intended to lead to a diversity of 

individually defined and well-argued architectural design approaches. 

Project work is developed in a studio setting supported by lectures, 

group and individual tutorials. Reviews of students include departmental 

staff, visiting experts from other schools as well as practicing architects. 

The brief invites students to develop experimental future-oriented 

mixed-use towers on a site in Shenyang. Students are asked to develop 

contextually responsive architectural design proposals that integrate 

social, cultural, technical, and environmental knowledge at an advanced 

level. All projects are required to develop tower proposals that employ 

timber for the load-bearing structure as well as other parts of the 

building. Working individually, but with a strong focus on a highly 

integrated overall masterplan, students developed their proposals 

informed by detailed lighting analysis and a strong focus on sustainable 

construction. This year, the studio was taught in collaboration with 

Atkins Shanghai, who shared a project site and provided critical feedback 

at all stages of the project. Several interim design reviews took place in 

the Atkins Shanghai office. 



211 

Seewoo Nikhil 

212 


213 

214 


RISING GREEN TOWER 

Cindy Lai Tong

215 

216 


LINKED HYBRID: 

ENERGIZING THE CENTRE 

OF SHENYANG 

Yan Limei | 严丽玫

217 

218 

STARTUP TOWER 

Duan Yawen | 段雅文 


219 

220 


FAMILY TOWER 

Wang Yitong | 王乙童

221 

222 

ALA 



Jinji Lake Biennale Pavillion by Marc Fornes / Theverymany 

Photo Christian Gänshirt 

Level 4 

( Year 1+2 ) 


0 

Hours 

200 / Semester 

Coordinator 

Christian Gänshirt (sem. 1) 

Davide Lombardi (sem. 2) 

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. 

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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 


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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. 

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ARC409 Architectural Design and Research Methods (5 credits) 

ARC411 Practice-Based Enquiry and Architectural Representation 

(5 credits) 

ARC413 Design Studio III (10credits) 


ARC408 Written Thesis (5 credits) 

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

M Arch Des 

XJTLU ARCHITECTURE YEARBOOK 2017-2018

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226 

ARC409 

Architectural Design and Research 

Methods 


Photo by Wu Yubang 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 



8 

The module aimed to familiarize students with research strategies 

related to the design work they concurrently undertook in ARC413: 

Design Studio 3. Addressing theoretical questions concerning design 

and research in the field of architecture through literature and specific 

case studies; students then, under the supervision of the teaching team, 

developed their own research strategies and put them in to practice in 

their studio work. 

The first part of the module was in seminar format and included in-class 

discussions and reading of assigned texts, with lectures providing context 

for debate. This aspect focused on the thinking that must necessarily 

underpin the practice of architectural design, including the relation 

between site and architecture, the prefiguration and representation of 

architectural ideas, as well as materials and the material components of 

architectural practice, in relation to actual design processes. The second 

part of the module was structured as a laboratory for the preparation of 

the Thesis Prospectus, under the supervision of the teaching team. 

Each student produced a Thesis Prospectus, in which they proposed a 

thesis question, demonstrated their command of architectural research, 

and identified and developed a specific set of theories and methods 

appropriate to their research work. Guest lecturers were invited to 

share their research experiences, with special sessions organized in 

coordination with the design studio ARC413 which further promoted 

discussion between students and thesis supervisors on their chosen 

research topics. 



227 

228 

ARC411 

Practice Based Enquiry and 

Architectural Representation 


Chen Liuyi, Cinematic Life, multi-media installation. 

Photograph by Claudia Westermann. 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 



Peta Carlin 




8 

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 

representation 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, to address them, and to communicate to audiences that have 

differing understandings of what architecture is or could be. The course 

also aims at initiating reflections on the 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. 

In this year’s course, texts that reflect thoughts on practice-based 

knowledge, on art, design and architecture were 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. This initiated a 

critical engagement with ways of knowing through practice. Through 

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

students engaged with questions of experience, the documentation 

and presentation of spatial principles, and the practices and theories 

of practice that are discussed in the weekly seminars. They learnt 

to understand this engagement as a form of critical enquiry into 

architectural practices of presentation and representation. 



229 

230 

ARC408 

Thesis 


Imperial Brick Museum, Suzhou, by architect Liu Jiakun 

2018 March (Des) theses in hard copy. 

Level 4 



5 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 



8 

This module accompanies and supports students in the individual 

production of their architectural Master's thesis document, a substantial 

piece of academic writing. Subject matters addressed in the thesis 

document originate both in the previous module “Architectural Design 

and Research Methods” and in Design Studio 4, under the supervision 

of studio tutors. In turn, methods, techniques and tools introduced 

in this module are also expected to inform and to enhance students’ 

design research development in Design Studio 4. The module introduces 

academic reading, writing, research and productivity techniques as 

well as related methods and tools. It is delivered in a variety of teaching 

modes, including lectures, seminars, workshops, as well as group and 

individual tutorials. 

Demonstrating the abilities, amongst others, to delineate a research 

focus, to identify and utilise intellectual arguments and resources, to 

creatively structure and organise knowledge, and to produce quality 

academic writing, the Master’s theses provide background, and 

theoretical support, delineate arguments, lay out design development 

processes and presents the design research findings of the Design Studio 

4 projects. Theses are expected to demonstrate a rigorous stance towards 

the students’ enquiries, taking into account critical commentary and 

evaluation in studio tutorials, design reviews, and other contexts such as 

student-initiated expert interviews. 



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ARC413/ARC410 

Design Studio 3+4 


Midterm Review Exhibition. 

Photographed by Jiang Dong. 

Level 4 

( Year 2 | Semester 1+2 ) 


10+15 

Module Leader 


Teaching Team 

Juan Carlos Dall' Asta 


Christiane Herr 


Glen Wash 

Claudia Westermann (primary tutors) 

Marco Cimillo 



José Á. Hidalgo 


Paolo Scrivano (secondary tutors) 


8 

In the final year of the Masters programme students develop their 

own design briefs and choose their individual tutors. The module 

ARC413 Design Studio 3 framework consequently 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, students defined the scope and topic of their projects in 

close cooperation with their individual tutors chosen at the end of May. 

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

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

tutorials, as well as lectures and seminar discussions. Students are 

guided to develop design tools and processes that allow them to explore 

their topics critically and in-depth, informing their design project, and 

initiating the thesis process that continues during the final semester of 

the Masters programme. 

Close connections with the other two modules in the semester support 

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

Architectural Representation supports the artistic side of the students’ 

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. 

In the final semester of the Masters programme students need to 

demonstrate self-reliance in the framing of architectural problems 

and in the research required to resolve these problems. Building on 

the design and research outcomes achieved in the previous semester, 

in ARC413 Design Studio 4 students address an individually chosen 

design thesis project, resolving design and research challenges identified 

inthe thesis prospectus written at the end of the previous semester. The 

outcome is a self-contained thesis design project supported by a thesis 

dissertation written in the parallel module ARC408 Thesis. Effectively, 

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

It concludes and summarises the years of studies, and, for the first time, 

clearly addresses the wider professional public. 



233 

234 


REEF TOWERS HONG KONG 

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO LAND RECLAMATION IN HONG KONG 

As one of the most influential metropolises, Hong Kong is rapidly moving towards the concept of the ‘meta-city’ which is characterized by the 

interwoven patterns of economic, political and social dynamics. The urban centres of Hong Kong are unique places where the natural and artificial 

blend together, creating a dense elixir of concrete jungle. With a history of urbanisation from the mountainsides to reclaimed land in the sea, Hong 

Kong has come to face critical urban problems such as land scarcity, pollution of diverse types as well as the staggering effects of global warming 

and climate change. While Hong Kong continues its land reclamation practices, the developments of the city have been criticised as “unsustainable 

urbanisation”. 

As a result, my project; Reef Towers Hong Kong, addresses an alternative approach to land reclamation and urban extension in Belcher Bay located 

on the northern shore of Kennedy Town, Hong Kong Island. The proposed masterplan integrates the water and the existing city to create a singular 

system which aims to activate the waterfronts as well as surrounding regions while looking at possibilities of growth in the future. The two towers 

developed throughout the course of this semester incorporate the natural and the man-made to create an environment where its inhabitants are 

in a constant feedback relationship with their immediate surrounding. The towers employ innovative facade strategies to amplify their inhabitants 

spatial experience as well as respond to the strong climate of Hong Kong. 

STUDENT 

Bissoonauth Chitraj 

Christiane Margerita Herr 

TUTORS 

Thomas Fischer

235 

236 

REEF TOWERS HONG KONG 

Bissoonauth Chitraj 


237 

238 

RE-CONNECTING CULTURAL NETWORK 

The phenomenon of urban transformation and globalization has drastically impact to the city development, which caused the dilapidated and 

abandoned housing in the city. The project is proposing an alternative solution for the dilapidated heritage buildings in the decayed areas. The site 

is situated in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, which nominated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2008. The project research and investigation 

is developed in two states, from the urban level introduced urban regeneration (urban acupuncture) as method to change the urban condition. The 

next step is introduced intervention on architecture level to replace the dilapidated plot into new programme to activate the old town. The project 

also focused to inherit the local tradition and culture. In holistic approach, the programme of the project is aimed to echoing the vision of the state 

to develop Penang into a Creative and liveable City. 

STUDENT 

Tan JingXiang | 陈敬翔 

Dr. Glen Wash 

TUTORS 

Dr. Christiane M. Herr 


239 

240 


RE-CONNECTING CULTURAL NETWORK 

Tan JingXiang | 陈敬翔

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CINEMATIC ARCHITECTURE FOR URBAN REGENERATION 

242 

This project is called Cinematic Architecture for Urban Regeneration ( 电影建筑学在城市更新中的运用 ). The primary tutor is Glen Wash and 

the secondary tutor is Paco Mejias. The main purpose for this 

project is to try to extract the cinematic element and apply it to the architecture design. To be specific, this project is to explore the interactions 

between the characters, the characters and the space, the characters and surroundings in the movie and use this as a design tool to regenerate 

the new village in Shanghai. Consider the movie concept in the term of architecture, add the element of obstacles or boundary to enrich the space. 

After analyzing the interactions in the film, the same explorations will be done at the site to satisfy the local residents’ walking experience. 

When doing the design, the streets which have the potential will be selected first. Then, based on the walking experience analysis from the 

residents, some points on the street will be picked out as the central area to design. Each two points will be considered together when designing to 

create the multi-layer in the space. Afterward, with the guidance of the circulation, more details will be added into the design. Finally, it is hopeful 

that the visitors will have the feeling of seeing and be seen in this new space. 


It is expected that this project can change the original single and boring living environment of the old new village in Shanghai, create more stops on 

the residents’ way home and activate the interactions in this community. 

STUDENT 

Chen Liuyi | 陈柳依 

Glen Wash 

TUTORS 

Paco Mejias

243 

244 


Chen Liuyi | 陈柳依

245 

THE POTENTIALITY OF THE CHINESE SPIRIT IN SPATIAL DESIGN 

246 


Writing, or calligraphy, in China, is strongly influenced by ancient techniques of making art. Chinese characters have developed from diagrams 

and drawings. China’s earliest hieroglyphs usually retain the traces of their origin in paintings. These paintings usually recorded daily life, and 

the related Chinese characters have changed from these with general, simplified, and abstract features. Meanwhile, the composition that makes 

Chinese characters is a manifestation of ancient Chinese philosophy, of which Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are the three key strands. They 

have affected Chinese culture and aesthetics in all dynasties. Chinese philosophy emphasizes the integration of individuals in their surrounding 

environment. 

The arts of ancient China consequently combine skills that relate to the artificial, constructed, and natural patterns. Chinese characters make a 

perfect example of this. The thesis outlines the research that I have undertaken on the relation between Chinese calligraphy and architectural 

space, between writing and constructing environments. It also presents that experimental design research develops from the above mentioned 

basic research new architectural typologies that are contemporary, resonant, and sensitive to the Chinese context for Guo Dong village. This 

innovative architectural language has been developed from the traditional Chinese cultural connotation and foundation, which is characterized by 

calligraphy. 

The new architectural language provides the possibility for the development of contemporary Chinese architecture that also responds to the local 

culture. It also answers the question of how architectural design can be modernized while at the same time preserving the past. 

STUDENT 

Deng Siqi | 邓斯琪 


TUTORS 

Glen Wash

247 

248 


THE POTENTIALITY OF 

THE CHINESE SPIRIT IN SPATIAL DESIGN 

Deng Siqi | 邓斯琪

249 

250 

EVOLVING ARCHITECTURE: SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH DESIGN 

"Cities must urge urban planners and architects to reinforce pedestrianism as an integrated city policy to develop lively, safe, sustainable and 

healthy cities. It is equally urgent to strengthen the social function of city space as a meeting place that contributes toward the aims of social 

sustainability and an open and democratic society." (Jan Gehl, 2010) 

The project is in the Northern East part of the old town of Suzhou. The originality of this venture is to expand the concept of sustainability from a 

purely functional and environmental view towards the integration and implication of social and cultural aspects. 

It is an approach to the creation of spatial pattern and organisation that would enhance and generate social cohesion in a sustainable environment. 

The choice to focus on the existing market, considered as the heart of the chosen area, is due to the fact that markets in general are living proof of 

social human interaction which currently are in a danger of extinction as a result of growing alternative forms of commerce such as e-commerce. 


Additionally, with the upcoming construction of 'luxury villas' in the northerly part; the statuses of society would drastically jump from the current 

local inhabitants of low and middle class to the coming of high-income earners which can create disparity. Thus the proposed renovated market is 

the ideal opportunity to challenge an interclass exchange to temporize gentrification through the current functional purpose of the marketplace 

but also develop a socially ecological diverse sector through the addition of a cultural layer that would guaranty a stimulated flexible architectural 

space. 

STUDENT 

LEUNG KEI Ornella 


SUPERVISORS 

Bert deMuynck

251 

252 


253 

254 

PRACTICE 



The practice year 2 is generally made after the completion of the 

Master’s degree. RIBA part 2, graduates now are qualified to work as 

RIBA part 2 Architectural Assistants. 

To sit the part 3 examination, graduates are required to undertake a 

total of 24 months of experience under the direct supervision of an 

architect. For students intending to take the UK part 3 examination, 12 

months minimum should be undertaken in the EEA, Channel Islands 

or the Isle of Man. 

At stage 2 practical experience graduates will be given more 

responsibility on projects. At this time graduates should begin studying 

a part 3 course which covers aspects of practice, management and law. 

During this time graduates can also become a RIBA Associate Member, 

which provides a range of services and benefits appropriate to their 

needs at this stage of their career. 

Practice 


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RIBA PART 3 

MEAP Access Course 


Co-Working Space SOHO Fuxing Lu, Shanghai. 

Photographed by Sun Fengzhu. 

Co-Working Space SOHO Fuxing Lu, Shanghai. 

Photographed by Sun Fengzhu. 

Co-ordinator 


After completing practice year 2, graduates now are qualified to sit the 

RIBA part 3 examination. 

Due to XJTLU's status as the largest joint-venture University in China 

with a strong connection, through Liverpool University to the RIBA, we 

have been selected to become the first institution in mainland China 

to host the International Part 3/MEAP access course, as presently 

running in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Gulf. In October 2017, Alison 

Mackinder from RIBA North visited the University to propose and 

discuss the conditions of the course. 

The Membership Eligibility Assessment Panel (MEAP) is a panel 

of prominent academics and practitioners who meet twice a year to 

assess the applications of international architects and academics, 

working outside the UK and do not necessarily hold RIBA-recognised 

qualifications, but want to become international RIBA Chartered 

Members. 

Successful completion of the RIBA Part 3/MEAP course enables 

architects and non-UK graduates with 5 years architectural education 

(with or without RIBA validation) and two years’ experience in practice 

to apply for RIBA Chartered Membership. It is planned that the first 

access course will run in June 2018 for three days. In preparation for 

the course, applicants receive seven web based monthly study packs, 

provided on www.architecture.com to supplement the delivered course 

on campus. These monthly study packs can be started during the 

Practice Year 2. 

For further information, please contact Teresa Hoskyns, Professional 

Studies Advisor (PSA). 

Practice Year 2

257 

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OTHER 

ACTIVITIES 

Ningbo Musuem Group

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CREATIVE EMERGENCIES 

International Workshop 

XJTLU – University of Tokyo 


Creators and Organizers 

Glen Wash Ivanovic 

Juan Carlos Dall' Asta (XJTU) 

Co-organizers and Hosts 

Kengo Kuma 

Toshiki Hirano 

(KumaLAB – University of Tokyo) 

Supporting Teachers 

Yiping Dong 

Jose Hidalgo (XJTLU) 

Matteo Belfiore (KumaLAB) 

Supporting Teachers 

Yuanxin Zhao 

Bingqi Liu 

Jieyu Wang 

Lincheng Zhou 

Xueyan Feng 

Jianqiang Xia 

Aijing He 

Yunjia Ma 

Ouli Tu 

Jingying Lin 

Yifei Huang (XJTU) 

The Creative Emergencies workshop was a design event proposed by 

XJTLU and hosted by the KumaLAB from the university of Tokyo. It took 

place in March 2018, and during 4 days invited students from XJTLU and 

Tokyo University to think about architecture that could transform and 

react in the event of an earthquake. 

The last Tohoku earthquake and tsunami showed that the role of 

architecture when confronting earthquakes and calamities should not 

only be circumscribed to the event itself but also to its aftermath. Could 

we think of architecture that can not only better withstand earthquakes, 

but can also see them as an opportunity for adapting and evolving in 

order to assist and relieve the affected population? 

During 4 days students worked in teams designing new types of public 

buildings that would morph in the event of an earthquake, changing both 

its function and physical form in order to assist and relieve the affected 

population. The workshop also explored the idea of buildings that can 

change permanently, becoming not only a temporary solution but, in 

some cases, a definitive one. Each team of students had design projects 

addressing three stages of a calamity-driven transformation: Precalamity, 

During-calamity and Post-calamity. 

Interestingly, the final projects presented transformations with a great 

focus on the symbolic aspects of buildings that could bring people 

together after the event. Students from XJTLU continued working in 

this project during the semester as part of the Final Yea Project brief: 

Meeting Calamities: Buildings that Morph 

Other Activities

261 

262 

LECTURE SERIES FALL 

2017 


Laurent Salomon & Judith Rotbart, Collège Daurat in Le Bourget (France), 

2015 (photo Sandro di Carlo d’Arsa) 

The Department of Architecture organized and promoted a series of 4 

lectures during the first semester of the academic year 2017-18, with 

a strong focus on the critical dialogue between East and West in the 

present architectural culture. 

In the first lecture (7th of September), Andrea de Stefanis presented 

under the title “Innovation through Renovation: Urban Renewal 

Practices” the architectural work of the office KokaiStudios, an award 

winning architecture and interior design firm founded in 2000 in 

Shanghai by Italian architects Filippo Gabbiani and Andrea Destefanis, 

with a focus on urban regeneration projects involving the requalification 

of heritage locations in China. 

With the title "Architecture and Tropicality: Shifting Paradigms in sub- 

Saharan Africa" on the 31st of October, Mark Olweny the Associate 

Dean, Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala introduced an innovative 

reflection on the contemporary architecture in Africa, discussing 

questions of post-colonial identity and sustainability in a critical 

perspective. 

In the third lecture entitled “Italian Seoul” on the 6th of November, 

Simone Carena and Marco Bruno presented the work of MotoElastico, 

an orbiting Space Lab founded in Seoul in 2001, explaining how in all 

its projects MOTOElastico is using irony to critically challenge and 

playfully celebrate local customs and behaviors, following the goal to 

challenge local cultures through unexpected combinations of original 

ingredients. 

With the title “Topology as Founding of Architecture” on the 17th of 

November, Laurent Salomon (professor of architecture at the ENSA 

of Rouen-Normandie) concluded this lecture series and presented his 

architectural work with Judith Robart from Paris, based on a strong 

modernist approach, explaining how the modern nature of architecture 

is migrating from the typological research to a topological one. 

Other Activities

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INTERNATIONAL ARCHI- 

TECTURE CONFERENCE 

AND EXHIBITION 

‘Dialogue Between Italy and China and Design’ 

Architecture Made in Italy - Italian Architecture 

Prize 2016 


Event Organiser 


Assistant 

Daniela Pico Pereze 

(M/Arch Student) 

Date 

15 th March 2018 

The Department of Architecture at Xi´an Jiaotong -Liverpool University 

hosted a conference and exhibition in collaboration with the Italian 

Trade Agency and CNAPPC- ITALIAN National Council of Architects 

Planners, Landscapers and Conservationist. The exhibition, curated by 

Davide Lombardi in collaboration with Daniela Pico Pérez (Master year 

1 student), displayed through interactive media a selection of the work 

of Italian architects who participated in the 2016 edition of the Italian 

Architect and Young Architectural Talent Prize. 

The exhibition ceremony on March 15th was part of the conference 

‘Dialogue Between Italy and China and Design’. The conference included 

the participation of Pietro Chiodi - Studio Boeri Architetti, John Yang – 

TUS Design Group, Enzo Eusebi- Enzo Eusebi + Partners, Bing Lin – Oli 

Architecture, Daniele Belleri – Studio Ratti, Kwok On Philip Fung – Fly 

Concept. 

Other Activities

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INTERNATIONAL 

ARCHITECTURE 

EXHIBITION 

Mecanoo Architecten 


Dates 

26 February - 18 March 2018 

Curator 


Assistant 

Daniela Pico Pereze 

The Department of Architecture at Xi´an Jiaotong-Liverpool University 

hosted an exhibition in collaboration with the Dutch architecture office 

Mecanoo Architecten, based in Delft. Over a period of three weeks, the 

exhibition showcased a selection of Mecanoo’s latest projects in Europe 

and Asia, it featuring in association with the International Architecture 

Workshop lead by Mecanoo´s Associate Partner, Nuno Gonçalves 

Fontarra. 

Curated by Davide Lombardi in collaboration with Daniela Pico Pérez 

(Masters Year 1 student), the exhibition, relied predominantly on 

interactive media. Projects included The Kaohsiung Train Station 

and The Kaohsiung Performance Art Center in Taiwan; The Taekwag 

Country Club and The Namdaemun Office Tower in Seoul, South Korea; 

The Palace of Justice in Cordoba, Spain; The Municipal Offices and 

Station in Delft, The Netherlands; The Library of Birmingham, United 

Kingdom; La Llotja Theatre and Conference Centre in Lleida, Spain; The 

Keukenhof Entrance in Lisse, The Netherlands; The Eurojust Offices in 

The Hague, The Netherlands; and Three Cultural Centers and One Book 

Mall in Shenzhen, China. 

Other Activities

267 

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ROTTERDAM NEW 

WATERFRONT 

Mecanoo International Workshop 


Coordination 




Francisco Jose Mejias 

MArchDes and BEngArch Year 3 took part in an International Workshop 

led by the Dutch firm Mecanoo Architecten. Based in Delft, The 

Netherlands, Mecanoo have designed numerous landmark buildings 

including the Birmingham Library, The Taiwanese Arts Centre, and the 

Delft University Library, receiving numerous awards and honours for its 

work. 

The workshop was led by Nuno Goncalves Fontarra, an associate partner 

in the firm, with its focus on developing solutions to redevelop a harbour 

area in Rotterdam. 

Students worked in groups of five or six, each overseen by an academic 

staff member, with consultation and advice from Nuno, with each group 

proposing complex and exciting ideas at urban and architectural scales. 

The first exercise considered density in an area of approximaltey 

500,000 m2 versus the natural environment (the water system) was 

undertaken during the initial days to find the breaking point where site 

characteristics were lost, or when living conditions became impossible. 

All groups incorporated the pre-existent natural environment into an 

explorative masterplan investigating different building typologies in 

order to understand the consequences of mass and volume in the future 

development, with the scale of housing, cultural facilities or office 

blocks, considered in terms of the impact that each program had in terms 

of density and liveability in light of the masterplan. 

The final results demonstrated critical thinking by design, and a 

varied approach to topics from multiple perspectives. Urban density, 

sustainability, landscaping and futuristic urban ideas emerged as some of 

the key themes. 

Other Activities

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270 

EXHIBITION: BRUNO 

TAUT’S HYUGA VILLA IN 

ATAMI, WEST OF JAPAN / 

EAST OF EUROPE 


Dates 

18th October – 3rd November 2017 

Curators 

Marco Capitanio 

Pierre Alain Croset 

Juan Carlos Dall’Asta 

Glen Wash 

Photos 

Dave Clough 

Partners 

co+labo Radović 

The Formwork Cultural Association 

The Hyuga Villa in Atami, Japan, designed by German architect Bruno 

Taut (1880-1938), was completed at the end of a three-year period spent 

in the country. 

The Department of Architecture at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University 

hosted an exhibition and event, ‘West of Japan/East of Europe’, in order 

to discuss the history of the building in the context of interactions 

between Western and Eastern architectural cultures. The exhibition 

was devoted to the only existing project Bruno Taut realized during his 

three-year stay in Japan, Hyuga Villa (Kyu Hyuga Bettei) in Atami, built 

in 1936. The project embodies a deeply personal refection on Japanese 

architecture, mediated through Taut‘s European sensibilities. 

The result represents a unique example of cross-cultural integration, 

which, at the time of its completion, stood at odds with mainstream 

Modernism in Europe on the one hand, and with the local architectural 

language on the other. The complete, detailed plans of Hyuga Villa 

were presented for the first time in China, paired with large-format 

photographs by the architectural photographer Dave Clough. By 

juxtaposing drawings and pictures, the aim was to immerse the visitor 

in the realm of Taut‘s architectural obsessions, in particular, the concept 

of appropriateness (Proportion), manifest in all aspects of the building, 

especially in its materiality and atmosphere. 

Other Activities

271 

272 

RESEARCH WORKSHOP 

“MAPPING ARCHITECTURAL 

CRITICISM IN CHINA” 


Dates 

April 24, 2018 

Organizers 

Yiping Dong 


Xiaohan Chen 

Participants 

Tabe Bergman 

(Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University) 





Chris Gänshirt 


Plácido González Martínez 

(Tongjii University) 

Jiawen Han 


Hua Li (Southeast University) 

Andong Lu (Nanjing University) 

Keyang Tang 

(South University of Science and 

Technology) 

Kai Wang (Tongji University) 



Building upon a research begun in 2014 and aimed at undertaking the 

construction of a historical overview of architectural criticism in the 

Western world, the workshop intended to discuss extending a similar 

study to China, charting past and current Chinese notions and forms of 

architectural criticism and placing them in a comparative perspective. 

Among the questions the workshop addressed were: what is the state of 

architectural criticism in today’s China? Has anything that can be called 

architectural criticism existed before and under which forms? Who have 

been and who are its major stakeholders? To which extent architectural 

criticism in China developed in relation to comparable experiences in 

the rest of the world? And to which extent it unfolded in an autonomous 

and independent way, with traits peculiar to its context? What can we 

learn from the history and current practice of architectural criticism in 

China? And how the latter can interact with architectural criticism in 

the rest of the world? 

By involving researchers with different academic affiliations and 

cultural backgrounds, the intention of the workshop was to initiate a 

debate about architectural criticism in China and in the West, foster 

a dialogue intending to create the conditions for future research 

collaborations. 

Other Activities

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CARDBOARD SHELTERS 

274 


Final review of cardboard shelter designs by primary school children. Photographs by Milan Ognjanovic. 



Teaching Team 



219 

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, without the use of glue and relying purely 

on mechanical connections. This year, the task was to build shelters for 

school children of about 11-12 years old. Besides additional connection 

materials such as metal screws, cable binders and string, the bridge 

structure must be made entirely of cardboard. Students work in teams 

of five to seven, and collaborate on all stages of the design. The project is 

run in cooperation with Suzhou SIP Foreign Language School, with their 

primary-level 6 students performing both as ‘clients’, giving students 

initial creative inspiration, and eager test subjects once structures are 

completed. The shelter design proceeds through a series of interim 

models, 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 and client assessment by the school children. During the 

event, the children also vote for the “Best Cardboard Shelter 2017 

Award” by attaching stickers to their favourite shelter designs. In this 

process, architecture students learn essential skills such as design work 

in teams, planning and managing the 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. 

Other Activities

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276 

MARCHDES STUDENTS 

WIN 3 rd PRIZE IN CTBUH 

STUDENT DESIGN 

COMPETITION 


Design Proposal for CTBUH Student Competition. Renderings by Jingxiang Tan and Chitraj Bissonauth. 

CTBUH Student Competition Winners With Ron Klemencic, CTBUH Jury (Jingxiang Tan and Chitraj Bissonauth second and third from the left) 



Students 

Chitraj Bissoonauth 

Jingxiang Tan 

Two students in their second year of the Master of Architectural Design 

programme were awarded the Third Prize in the prestigious CTBUH 

(Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) 6th International Student 

Tall Building Design Competition. The prize winners were selected 

in three rounds of review from 229 submissions. Working as a team, 

Chitraj Bissoonauth and Jingxiang Tan developed a future vision for 

Shanghai entitled ‘Networking Tradition and Future for a Livable Urban 

Shanghai’. The annual CTBUH student idea competition typically calls 

for design proposals that are future-oriented in both programmatic and 

functional as well as technical aspects of architecture. The theme for 

2017 was ‘Connecting the City: People, Density and Infrastructure’. Final 

competition winners were selected by a jury composed of professionals 

from well-known practices based on in-person presentations of the five 

finalists at the annual international 2017 CTBUH conference which 

was held from October 30 to November 3 in Sydney, Brisbane, and 

Melbourne, Australia. 

Other Activities

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278 

STUDENTS PRESENT 

DESIGN PROPOSALS 

AT FOOTBRIDGE2017 

INTERNATIONAL 

CONFERENCE 


Zhuoying Wu Presenting Bridge Design Proposal “Berlin Spirit” at the Conference. Photograph by Christiane M. Herr. 

“Technical Irrationality” and “Spree Encounter”: Bridge Proposals by Hanzhi Gao and Yifei Huang. 

Supervisor 


Students 

Hanzhi Gao 

Zhuoying Wu 

Yifei Huang 

In September 2017, three of the best bridge proposals resulting from 

the structural design module ARC202 of the preceding academic year 

were further developed, submitted to and presented at the prestigious 

Footbridge2017 International Conference held in Berlin, Germany. With 

the theme “Tell a Story”, the conference was hosted by the Technical 

University of Berlin, Germany. Providing an interdisciplinary forum 

for practitioners, researchers and educators, the conference this year 

called for not only academic papers but also for bridge design proposals 

for given sites in Berlin. All three submitted proposals were accepted 

for presentation and discussion at the conference. In addition, proposals 

were included in a dedicated book collecting all submitted bridge 

proposals, titled ‘Footbridges for Berlin’. The conference encourages 

interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to design between 

architecture and engineering. This approach is widely recognised 

in Europe and beyond as a key ingredient in high-quality built 

environments, but not yet well established in China. Future professionals 

in both architecture and engineering will increasingly rely on 

collaborative design competence. Participating in the conference, gaining 

awareness of current developments in leading research and practice 

as well as networking with peers provides invaluable opportunities for 

participating students. 

Other Activities

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280 

FREESTYLE BRIDGE 

DESIGN COMPETITION 


Bridge design review with guest reviewers from the Departments of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Photographs by Christiane M. Herr. 




Jun Xia 

(Department of Civil Engineering) 

Isaac Galobardes 

(Department of Civil Engineering) 

Jose Hidalgo 

(Department of Architecture) 


(Department of Architecture) 


45 

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 

architecturally driven design ideas. The competition task this year was 

to build a functional model of a bridge connecting the XJTLU North and 

South campuses, with a span of 27m and supported only at the ends. 

Bridges should be as lightweight as possible while supporting a weight 

of 6kg distributed across 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, usability, 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. 

Other Activities

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282 

MATERIALS LIBRARY 

Jack Dunne, Caterina Tiazzoldi 


From left: Christian Gaenshirt , Jack Dunne, David Goodman, Pierre 

Alain Croset, Caterina Tiazzoldi, Ruggero Canova, James Champion, 

Architecture Collection 

Student Zhiling Wang 

Student Chen Lin 

Industrial Design Collection 

From left: Christian Gaenshirt , Wenwen Li, Derrick Tate, Pierre Alain 

Croset, Ruggero Canova (Head of the Materials Library), Yunpeng 

Xiang, Caterina Tiazzodi, Chen Lin, Hongchao Wang, Stanislav Ten, 

Andrew Harvilla. 

Industrial Design Collection and Rubber 

Installation by Caterina Tiazzoldi 

Architecture Collection 

Photos provided by Caterina Tiazzoldi, Ruggero Canova, Milan Ognjanovic 

Head of the Materials Library 

Ruggero Canova 

Collection 

Ruggero Canova 


Schematic Concept 


Exhibition Design 


Interior and Furniture Design 

Ben Wu – Honchao Wang XJTLU 

Rubber Installation 


In December 2017, the XJTLU Materials Library opened on the Ground 

Floor of the Design Building, located in the South Campus of Xi’an 

Jiaotong-Liverpool University. The library is a collaborative project 

between the Departments of Industrial Design and Architecture. Its 

mission is to create a direct connection between the materiality of the 

built environment and design procedures adopted in higher education. 

In a cultural environment with a predominance of ‘digitally native’ 

students, access to different construction and design materials aims to 

strengthen the relationship between design conception and physical 

implementation, where technical properties can also be read and 

understood as the expression of both function and aesthetics. 

According to Ruggero Canova, “the Materials Library can [also] act as a 

networking platform for materials producers, manufacturing companies, 

design and architecture firms, as well as academic research, teaching 

and learning.” 

With a 300 square-meter space in the heart of the Design Building, 

and surrounded by workshops and advanced manufacturing labs, the 

Materials Library supports a strategy where research by doing, and 

learning by design, in both Industrial Design and Architecture can be 

combined. 

The scientific project of the Library was developed by Ruggero Canova 

and Christian Gänshirt following conversations with Materials Libraries 

located in different parts of the world including: Materió, Rematerialise 

at Kingston University, Central Saint Martin Materials Library, Institute 

of Making at UCL, MatTo at Politecnico di Torino, and Neuni Materio. 

As part of this cross-fertilization process, a permanent partnership and 

research programme has been established with Materioteca Milano 

and its founder Diana Castiglione, who is a member of the scientific 

committee of XJTLU Materials Library. 

Other Activities

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284 

RESEARCH WORKSHOP 

“SMART/ECO CITIES AND DISTRIBUTED 

RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS IN CHINA AND IN 

THE UK” 


Dates 

July 11, 2018 

Organisers 

Dr Marco Cimillo, XJTLU 

Dr Esra Kurul, Reader at Oxford 

Brookes University 

Dr Maurizio Sibilla, Oxford Brookes 

University 

Dr Ying Long, Tsinghua University 

Participants 

Prof Gisela Loehlein, XJTLU 

Dr Marco Cimillo, Lecturer, XJTLU 

Dr Esra Kurul, Reader at Oxford 

Brookes University 

Dr Maurizio Sibilla, Oxford Brookes 

University 

Dr Ying Long, Tsinghua University 

Dr Fei Xue, XJTLU 

Dr Suo Hua, Guangzhou University 

Dr He Qi, China Construction 

Science and Technology Shenzhen 

Dr Yi Zhang, Tsinghua-Berkeley 

Shenzhen Institute 

Dr Zhen Tian, Associate Professor, 

Soochow University 

Prof Yan Xiao, Zhejiang University 

Dr Cristoforo De Martino, Nanjing 

University of Technology 

Prof Zhou Guoyan, SooChow 

University 

Dr Claudia Westermann, XJTLU, 

Dr Sofia Quiroga, XJTLU 

Xi Chen, XJTLU 

Wenting Ma, XJTLU 

Xiaotong Xu, XJTLU 

The International Research Workshop was held at XJTLU as part of 

the Research Project "Users and distributed renewable and interactive 

energy systems (DRIS) a comparative study between the United 

Kingdom and China", carried out in collaboration among XJTLU, Oxford 

Brookes University, and Tsinghua University, and funded by a Global 

Challenges Collaborative Research Award from OBU. 

The event was also supported by the Department of Architecture at 

XJTLU, to debate more broadly on these topics, with experts in different 

disciplines, joining the discussion from prestigious institutions in 

Suzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Oxford. 

The group shared research and ideas for a full day at the International 

Academic Exchange Centre, and is now working towards a more solid 

network and new collaborative, multidisciplinary projects. 

Other Activities

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286 

MULTIPLE AWARDS FOR 

OUTSTANDING FINAL YEAR 

PROJECTS 


Shaokang Li ‘A Palimpsest of Old Shanghai’ 

Fuwei Shao ‘Shifting Perspectives in the Urban Theatre’ 

Awards at the National Architectural Education Annual Symposium 

Staff and students from the Department of Architecture at Xi’an Jiaotong- 

Liverpool University celebrated the award of a number of prizes at an 

architectural education competition for universities in China. Submissions 

from the department won the Outstanding Design Brief and Outstanding 

Design Studio Coursework at the 2017 National Architectural Education Annual 

Symposium in Shenzhen, China. 

Schools and departments of architecture around China were required to submit 

architectural design studio briefs and related resulting students’ work. The 

prizes received by the two XJTLU staff members and two students were for a 

Final Year Project studio brief and two related studio projects. Only six awards 

were given in the Final Year Project category in this year’s competition, for 

which there were 327 submissions of architectural design studio briefs and related 

students’ work. 

The Outstanding Design Brief award was received for ‘Framing Indeterminacy’, 

a brief developed collaboratively by teachers Aleksandra Raonic and Claudia 

Westermann for the Final Year Project studio in Year Four. The ‘Framing 

Indeterminacy’ brief guided the students in an experimental approach to 

developing a new architecture of participation and exchange for a site located 

in Shanghai on the West bank of the Huangpu River, around 800 metres 

southeast of the historic Bund waterfront area. In light of recent developments 

in architecture that prioritise form as image, the brief suggested that students 

reconsider openness, participation, and performance as fundamental questions 

of architecture. 

Two related Final Year Studio projects developed by the 2017 graduates 

Shaokang Li and Fuwei Shao each received an Outstanding Coursework award. 

Shaokang Li’s Final Year Project, ‘A Palimpsest of Old Shanghai’, captured an 

understanding of indeterminacy by translating a Chinese shadow play into 

an exquisite series of conceptual models and drawings, and subsequently into 

architecture. Story fragments overlap and interlace in the multi-universe of 

the proposed architecture. It blurs the boundary between time and space and 

generates new stories. 

Graduate Fuwei Shao questioned compositional approaches to the design of 

architecture with a focus on function, form and material to determine the 

meaning of space. His Final Year Project ‘Shifting Perspectives in the Urban 

Theatre’ sensibly addresses issues of control and participation in architectural 

design, arriving at new ways to activate and promote social interaction. 

Jiangsu Province Excellent Final Year Project Prize 

Shaokang Li’s ‘A Palimpsest of Old Shanghai’ was also awarded a second prize 

in the Excellent Final Year Project competition of Jiangsu Province in 2017. The 

project was awarded among thousands of research papers and projects presented 

from students at universities and colleges in Jiangsu Province. 

Other Activities

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288 

BDP-FARRELL PRIZE 


Photos by Hanzhi Gao 

The Department of Architecture at Xi 'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University 

awarded its second annual BDP-Farrell prize to Year Four student Yifei 

Huang for his final year studio work. The award is sponsored by BDP 

- the architecture firm that designed XJTLU's South Campus including 

the Design Building that is home to the Department of Architecture. 

The award is also named in honour of the first faculty member of the 

Department of Architecture at XJTLU, Edward Farrell, and recognises 

the undergraduate architecture student with the best studio performance 

in the final year of the BEng(Hons) Architecture programme. 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. 

Yifei, already the recipient of the Best Performance in the Final Year 

Project in Architecture Award, was presented with his award at a 

ceremony held in the Design Building’s exhibition hall, during the 

University's graduation week. The prize ceremony was chaired by 

Professor Gisela Loehlein from the Department of Architecture. 

Yifei Huang was supervised for his Final Year Project by Juan Carlos 

dall’Asta and Glen Wash. The semester 1 studio project of year 4 was 

supervised by José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano. The same tutors also supervised 

Jianqiang Xia who was honoured with the BDP-Farrell second prize. 

Graduates Houzhe Zhang and Yulin Yu shared the BDP-Farrell third 

prize. Their studio projects of the final year were supervised by Glen 

Wash and Sofia Quiroga in semester 1. Houzhe Zhang’s and Yulin Yu’s 

Final Year Projects were supervised by both Christian Gaenshirt and 

Bert de Muynck, as well as José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano and Philip Fung. 

The award is a gift of Professor Andre Brown, former Vice President 

for Academic Affairs at XJTLU. Originally involved in setting up the 

Department at XJTLU, Professor Brown invited BDP 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. 

Other Activities

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290 

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. 

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 

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

and aesthetics.

291 

292 

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. 

RESEARCH OUTPUTS 

2017-2018 


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. 

靈璧賞石 Rock in the Form of a Fantastic Mountain. Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Kangxi period 

(1662–1722), China. Black Lingbi limestone; wood stand. Dimensions overall (with base): H. 18 3/8 in. 

(46.7 cm); W. 12 7/8 in. (32.7 cm); D. 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm). Gift of Richard Rosenblum Family, 2009. From 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

Publications 

Berstrand, Tordis. “La possibilité d’un espace-mur.” In Murs, exhibition 

catalogue, Musée de Beaux-Arts de Caen, edited by Emmanuelle 

Delapierre and Marie-Claire Sellier, 28-37. Caen: Musée de Beaux-Arts 

de Caen, 2018. 

Carlin, Peta. On Surface and Place: Between Architecture, Textiles and 

Photography. Abingdon - Oxon: Routledge, 2018. 

Lombardi, Davide; Tedeschi, Arturo “INPUT/OUTPUT DATA”, in 

“Informed architecture”, edited by M. Hemmerling, Springer, 2018. 

Lombardi, Davide. “Il coraggio di disegnare”, in “Simplified Complexity”, 

edited by G. Di Marco, Le Penseur, 2018. 

Quiroga, Sofía. “The divided screen, composition and visual 

decomposition. Space and Film, Montreal 1967.” Constelaciones 6 (2018): 

131-144. 

Quiroga, Sofía. “Poesía de un paisaje urbano nocturno” in Tesis recientes. 

Madrid: COAM editions, 2018. 

Scrivano, Paolo. Against the Contingencies of the Italian Society: 

Issues of Historical Continuity and Discontinuity in Italy’s Postwar 

Architectural Periodicals in Torsten Schmiedeknecht and Andrew 

Peckham (eds.), Modernism and the Professional Architecture Journal: 

Reporting, Editing and Reconstructing in Postwar Europe. London - New 

York: Routledge, 2018: 184-96. 

Scrivano, Paolo; Capitanio, Marco. “West of Japan/East of Europe: 

Translating Architectural Legacies and the Case of Bruno Taut’s Hyuga 

Villa.” Built Heritage 2:2 (June 2018): 50-61. 

Wash, Glen; Miyazaki, Shinya. “Drawing the Invisible: Creating 

Visualizations of Rice Farming in Rural China”. In Proceedings for CUI’ 

17 - V International Contemporary Urban Issues - Informality. DAKAM. 

2017, 87 -94 Istanbul. 

Westermann, Claudia. “On delight: Thoughts for tomorrow.” Technoetic 

Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research 16:1 (2018): 41-49.

293 

294 


Conferences and Lectures 

Hoskyns, Teresa; Loehlein, Gisela; Jassi, Manju. 

“Public Space and New Urban Territories: A 

comparison between Suzhou, China and Dubai, 

United Arab Emirates,” ISUF Conference, Bari. 

Lombardi, Davide. “Acheiropoietic Architecture”, 

paper presented at the International Conference 

“IMMAGINI?”, Free University of Brixen, December, 

2017. 

Lombardi, Davide; Dounas, Theodoros. “Creating 

new cities – Cellular automata and social condenser”, 


“CAADRIA 2018 – Learning, Adapting, Prototyping”, 

Tsinghua Univeristy, Beijing, 2018. 

Lombardi, Davide; Herr, Christiane; Galobardes, 

Isaac. “Parametric Design of Sculptural Fibre 

Reinforced Concrete Façade Components”, 


“CAADRIA 2018 – Learning, Adapting, Prototyping”, 

Tsinghua Univeristy, Beijing, 2018. 

Lombardi Davide. “Data driven design”, key note 

lecture presented at Universidad De Las Americas 

Puebla (UDLAP), Mexico, 2018. 

Quiroga, Sofia. “The Mylar mirror and other devices 

at Pepsi pavilion (Osaka 1970),” paper presented 

at the International Conference “Mirror, Mirror: 

Perceptions, Deceptions, and Reflections in Time.” 

London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, 

March 10, 2018. 

Quiroga, Sofia. “Utopic Theatres,” paper presented at 

the “3 rd Arts and Humanities Conference,” University 

of Economics, Prague - Department of Philosophy and 

Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, May 17, 2018. 

Raonic, Aleksandra. “Framing Indeterminacy – 

Pedagogical Journey into Experimental Architectural 

Thinking,” presentation at the international 

conference “Consciousness Reframed XX: Subtle 

Cybernetics and the Art of Mind” China Central 

Academy of Fine Art, November 25-26, 2017. 

Scrivano, Paolo. “Natural and Artificial in Western 

Architecture and Urban Space,” lecture presented at 

conference “Architecture - City - Nature,” Nanjing 

Tech University, December 9, 2017. 

Scrivano, Paolo. “Le transfert culturel comme 

approche méthodologique,” lecture presented at 

the conference “L’historiographie de l’architecture 

sous l’angle des transferts culturels,” École nationale 

supérieure d’architecture de Strasbourg - Université 

de Strasbourg, February 2, 2018. 

Scrivano, Paolo. “Bruno Zevi, A Transnational 

Cultural Mediator,” keynote lecture presented at 

the conference “How to Narrate the History of 

Architecture,” The Faculty of Architecture and Town 

Planning, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 

Haifa, May 7, 2018. 

Scrivano, Paolo. “L’America di Bruno Zevi: 

scambi, contatti, strategie di legittimazione,” paper 

presented at the symposium “Intellettuali di confine. 

L’emigrazione intellettuale tra Italia e Stati Uniti e 

l’avvio della guerra fredda culturale in Italia (1938- 

1950). Giornata di studi dedicata alla figura di 

Bruno Zevi a cento anni dalla nascita,” Centro Studi 

Americani - Fondazione Bruno Zevi, Rome, June 20, 


Wash, Glen. "Visualizing the Place-Space 

Boundary". The Place of Memory and Memory of 

Place Conference, University of London Centre of 

Interdisciplinary Research. London, June 16, 2018. 

Westermann, Claudia. “On Delight: Thoughts for 

Tomorrow,” presentation at the international 

conference “Consciousness Reframed XX: Subtle 

Cybernetics and the Art of Mind” China Central 

Academy of Fine Art, November 25-26, 2017. 

Westermann, Claudia. “The Industrialisation of 

the Romantic Spirit,” presentation for the Summer 

School of Hong Kong University, Shanghai Study 

Centre. Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, June 28, 


Exhibitions 

Quiroga, Sofia. “Light and technified image, from 

Moholy-Nagy to CAVS”. Spanish Pavilion, 16 th 

International Architecture Exhibition Venice 

Biennale Architettura 2018, May - November 2018. 

Others 

Loehlein, Gisela. Design Consultancy: Kloster Reute, 

Bad Waldsee, advising on scoping, masterplanning 

and design for the future of the convent 2017-2022. 

Jiangsu University Natural Science Research 

Programme (18KJB560018) 2018-2020, ‘Weak 

Tectonics: the Role of Materiality in the Work of 

Japanese Architects SANAA’, PI: Dr Jing Yang, 

collaborators: Dr Bing Chen, Dr Adam Brillhart, Nan 

Yang, Yaqin Zuo. 

SIP/ XJTLU Research fund 2019-2022, 'Advanced 

Low Energy Technologies for Zero Emission 

Architecture', PI: Dr Moon Kim, collaborators: Prof 

Gisela Loehlein, Dr Bing Chen, Dr Huiqing Wen, Dr 

Changhyun Jun, Prof Stephen Sharples, Dr David 

Chow, Dr Juan Carlos Dall'asta.

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296 

MAPPING ARCHITECTURAL 

CRITICISM IN CHINA 


Chen Xiaohan 

Ph.D. Candidate 

Department of Architecture 


(XJTLU) 

Since the early 1980s, there has been a renewed interest in Chinese 

architectural criticism. In 1986, for example, in his article “Architectural 

theory, criticism and creation” ( 建筑理论 , 评论和创作 . Jianzhu lilun, 

pinglun he chuangzuo), architecture professor Zou Denong pointed at 

the importance of architectural criticism in China (LI L., ZHI W. 2014). 

According to architecture professor Duan Xiaodan, in recent times critics 

in China have been turning to social views, even to journalism, in a 

perspective where ontological architectural thinking seems to be absent 

(DUAN X., YANG Y. 2009). Since 1990, the phenomenon of “sociologism” 

in Chinese architectural criticism has become rather common. In this 

view, architectural criticism has become more about the accumulation of 

popular social discourses and less about focusing on ontological questions 

such as theory, design context, and technological characteristics. For the 

moment, historical research on Chinese architectural criticism is still 

limited to a number of pioneering studies (ZHU T. 2008; ZHU J. 2012). 

In common understanding, architectural criticism is often indistinctly 

positioned somewhere between architectural history and theory and the 

promotion of specific buildings or practices (HEYNEN H., GENARD J.-L. 

2012). Based on this premise, “Mapping Architectural Criticism in China” 

intends to map out past and present definitions of Chinese architectural 

criticism by encompassing different characterizations of the discipline. 

Research

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298 

ARCHITECTURAL DEVICES 

AS CATALYSTS FOR URBAN 

TRANSFORMATION 


Guillermo Sánchez Sotés 





Chinese urban environments are experiencing significant changes due 

to rapid modernization. The prevalence of top-down planning results 

in generic urban environments that presume generic inhabitants 

and remain indifferent to their inhabitants’ ways of living. On closer 

observation, inhabitants can, however, be observed to adapt these 

generic urban spaces, often with simple but effective means. One can 

observe a range of objects and devices on various scales – from small 

furniture to temporary structures – being used to transform spaces to 

produce markets, breakfast spaces, sites for entertainment and learning, 

and much more. 

This is a proposal for a thesis project to investigate these devices as 

indicators of shortcomings in current architectural and urban planning 

approaches, and to identify ways in which architectural design may 

be employed as a partial methodological route to address these 

shortcomings. The proposed project comprises an observational stage, an 

analytical stage, as well as a subsequent experimental research through 

design stage during which the outcomes of the previous stages will be 

further developed and evaluated. Findings are expected to inform the 

urban planning of public spaces in China as well as architectural design 

of sustainable public spaces at various scales. 

Research

299 

300 

ANOTHER MODERNIZATION: 

URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS 

OF SUZHOU, 1949-1986 


View From Bei Si Pagoda towards Ren Min Road, 1982, 

photo taken by Shizhao Liu 

Source: http://sz.xinhuanet.com/ 

Jie Jia Qiao, 1960s, photos from Xu.(ed), 

Traditional Suzhou Street and Lanes, 2005, Yangzhou. 

Access by http://szjy.szlib.com/ 

Yin Ma Qiao, 1950s, photos from Xu.(ed), 



View From Bei Si Pagoda towards Ren Min Road, 1940, photos from 

Xu.(ed), Traditional Suzhou Street and Lanes, 2005, Yangzhou. 


Jie Jia Qiao, 1980s, photos from Xu.(ed), 



Yin Ma Qiao, 1980s, photo from Xu.(ed), 



Quanqing Lu 





The research is aiming 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 1986 when planning and practices 

of urban conservation were first initiated with the announcement of 

the national law for conservation, with Suzhou then identified as one of 

the nation's historic and cultural cities. Current research and literature 

on urban form in Suzhou indicates a significant lack of information and 

discussion on this period of the city's urban history. 

Research

301 

302 

RESEARCH ON THE EL- 

DERLY’S DAILY LIFE AND 

THEIR LIVING ENVIRON- 

MENT: A COMPARISON OF 

SUZHOU OLD TOWN AND 

SUZHOU INDUSTRIAL PARK 


Qian Lin 





With a growing number of elderly people, ageing is becoming a crucial 

social issue in China. The "One Child Policy" of the 1980s limited the 

number of newborns and resulted in a 4-2-1 structural morphology of 

population. Due to the pressure of fast-paced life, the younger generation 

born later than the 1980s tends to live a life that is different from their 

predecessors. Regardless of choosing a late marriage, or establishing 

Dink (Double Incomes No Kids) families, the younger generation’s way 

of living leads to a rapid population ageing. However, the methods and 

the approaches for dealing with this issue are insufficient, and thus can 

hardly meet the demands of this group of the population. 

In China, “Home-based Care” is advocated by the government at the 

policy level. Besides, given the custom and living habits of Chinese 

people, many elders prefer ageing at home. As such, this research seeks 

to study the ageing issue by looking at the living condition of Suzhou 

elders who age at home, and drawing a comparison between those living 

in the Suzhou Old Town and Suzhou Industrial Park, thereby laying a 

foundation for proposing strategic and tactical measures on housing and 

community for the Suzhou elderly. 

Research

303 

304 

THE ENERGY RETROFIT 

OF THE EXISTING 

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING 

STOCK IN JIANGSU 

PROVINCE 


Xi Chen 





Abstract 

Buildings in China represent almost 1/4 of the total national energy 

consumption, from which urban residential buildings represent over 38% 

of the total floor area in urban area and 23% of total energy consumption 

in building sector. It is also predicted that the energy consumption and 

carbon emission for housing will increase sharply in the future, while 

China is already the largest carbon producing country in the world. Thus, 

China has committed internationally and established policies to promote 

clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency buildings to decrease 

carbon emission by 60%-65% by 2030. 

The low-energy retrofit of the existing housing stock can significantly 

reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Apart from 

sustainable and low-energy technologies and approaches, the 

experiences of companies, users and policy-makers play an important 

part in organising the building and energy system. Thus, this research is 

expected to explore the applicability and the potential of standard and 

innovative measures, policies and approaches to low energy retrofit for 

the residential building stock that fit different future social and climate 

context scenarios in Jiangsu Province. 

Research

305 

306 

SITUATING CHINESE 

INDEPENDENT 

ARCHITECTS 1949 

ONWARDS 


Nan Ye 





Abstract 

The history of Chinese independent architects could trace back to 

the early 1920s when Chinese architectural students returned after 

studied abroad and established private design practices. However, they 

encountered a temporary termination after the socialist transformation 

of the new China from 1949 to 1956. After the 1950s, it took decades for 

the architectural profession to reclaim the freedom of private practice. 

Finally, from the 1980s onward, individual practice began to flourish 

and multiply in number. Yet before the 1980s, Chinese architects still 

tried to release their creativity in restricted opportunities. This research 

proposes to study the history of Chinese Independent Architects, while 

comparing with contemporaneous western counterparts and to look for, 

with a focus on the emergence and re-emergence of private architectural 

practices, the essence of independent practice. 

Research

307 

308 

PROMENADE AND YI BU YI 

JING: MOVEMENT, DISCOV- 

ERY AND SCENERY IN THE 

CASES OF LE CORBUSIER'S 

VILLA AND TRADITIONAL 

CHINESE LITERATI GARDEN 


Zuo Yaqin 





Abstract 

The Chinese literati garden and Le Corbusier's villa are examples 

of dwellings which emphasize the experience of yi bu yi jing and 

promenade as part of the living experience. Through a parallel study, 

questions are raised about how the yi bu yi jing and promenade in 

two cases have been conceived and realised with particular focus on 

movement, discovery and scenery, and how to interpret the two cases 

which expressed identical aspirations with regards to spatial strategies, 

organisation and experience. The thesis studies ways in which chosen 

examples of gardens in Suzhou and villas in France have been laid out 

to facilitate experience that both belongs to and exceeds the framework 

for dwelling which can be identified in other periods and places. These 

examples and analyses open further questions related to concepts of 

dwelling in traditional China and twentieth-century Europe which the 

thesis seeks to examine about the theme of spatial strolling. The study 

draws on architectural history and theory, philosophy, art and aesthetics 

as means to understand and critically engage with the influences that 

have informed the chosen case studies. The thesis aims to discover the 

underlying dynamics and possibilities for the purpose of identifying 

strategies for dwelling and the design of living spaces applicable in the 

contemporary age. 

Research

309 

310 

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE 

XI'AN JIAOTONG-LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY 

STUDENTS 


Sun Xiao 孙潇 Linardi Felix Ma Yunjia 马韵佳 Feng Lu 冯璐 Wang Aoli 王傲立 Wang Jieyu 王婕妤 You Jiayi 尤珈仪 

Deng Yusheng 邓禹晟 Cao Ruichen 曹瑞晨 Zhao Yuanxin 赵元新 Cheng Jie 程婕 Chen Zhaoyuan 陈昭元 Zou Wei 邹 

伟 Zhou Lincheng 周麟丞 Zhang Yingqi 张英琦 Zhang Jinqiao 张近桥 Zhang Hongru 张洪儒 Feng Xueyan 冯雪妍 Wu 

Danyang 吴丹阳 Wang Jiapeng 王佳鹏 Zhou Yilin 周依林 Sun Zhiwei 孙志伟 Xia Jianqiang 夏坚强 Qiao Jiatun 乔稼 

屯 Cao Shan 曹珊 Li Rui 李睿 Tong Da 童达 Tu Ouli 涂欧犁 Wu Zhuoying 吴卓颖 Li Sizhou 李四周 Xu Yile 徐乙乐 Wang 

Liu 王柳 Zhu Siwei 朱思为 Lin Jingying 林婧蓥 Yu Yulin 俞裕林 Gao Hanzhi 高含之 He Aijing 何艾璟 Zhou Yinuo 周宜 

诺 Zou Yina 邹依娜 Qi Xiaozhi 齐啸之 Wang Ducheng 王渡程 Liu Bingqi 刘炳圻 Wu Yiyang 吴艺扬 Zhai Huihong 翟 

珲宏 Zhang Houzhe 张厚哲 Huang Yifei 黄逸飞 Xu Mingyang 徐铭阳 Bai Yuxin 白雨馨 Dei Gabriella Gratia Wirjana 

Michelle Natasha Tjandra Ricky Dharma Mulyono Joshua Bryan Koromila Eirini Theodora Huang Yu 黄羽 

Gong Lingfei 龚凌菲 Wang Hongmeng 王鸿蒙 Li Zhao 李钊 Wang Zehao 王泽浩 Jiang Yi 蒋翌 Wei Wenxin 魏文欣 

Qiu Mingyu 仇明玉 Liu Jiazheng 刘家正 Wang Zhihan 王知涵 Yu Miao 禹淼 Zhou Xiaoyang 周笑阳 Zhu Yue 朱玥 Yu 

Xinning 郁歆宁 Chen Fanyun 陈凡云 Lu Yizhe 陆怡哲 Wang Yuzhou 王煜洲 Ye Chenwei 叶宸维 Wang Yu 王煜 Yang 

Ruizi 杨蕊滋 Zhou Yili 周依黎 Zhang Xiaoxuan 章晓萱 Wu Bi 吴比 Zhuo Jinbing 卓锦冰 Wu Yan 伍衍 Chen Danni 陈 

丹妮 Dan Xinrui 但欣芮 Li Dexin 李德馨 Li Ziyi 李子懿 Tong Xuan 童轩 Zhang Weizhen 张伟臻 Li Guangyuan 李光远 

Xue Wenya 薛温雅 Ye Wenxuan 叶文轩 Li Xian 李贤 Zhang Lingke 张零可 Tu Kaixi 涂凯茜 Jiang Ruochen 蒋若辰 Tong 

Shuoyu 佟朔宇 Zhang Xinyi 张馨艺 Chen Haokun 陈昊坤 Yao Wenxuan 姚文萱 Chen Zitong 陈梓橦 Wu Jianghan 

吴江浛 Zhang Yining 张怡凝 Ha Ziyu 哈姿羽 Zhang Yi 张亦 Cai Shiyu 蔡诗雨 Qiao Kefei 乔柯斐 Shui Shumin 水淑敏 

Chen Menghan 陈梦晗 Cui Qichen 崔琦琛 He Yuxin 何昱欣 Jia Yifei 贾逸飞 Xu Ziying 许子莹 Yao Yuzheng 姚羽筝 Shi 

Luhang 时露航 Zhang Zixuan 张子璇 Li Linmei 李林镁 Zhao Zihao 赵子豪 Zhang Yang 张洋 Shang Yixiu 尚奕秀 Li 

Qianru 李倩茹 Yan Haonan 鄢淏南 Cheng Jingyuan 程婧媛 Fang Tianyuan 方天圆 Ze Mingxuan 则铭暄 Liu Ziyan 刘 

紫烟 Jiang Kunhui 蒋坤辉 Qi Simiao 漆思淼 Wang Ruihao 王睿豪 Zhang Boran 张博然 Ding Yuxin 丁宇欣 Ma Dongjie 

马东杰 Ma Mingxun 马铭勋 Wang Lingyu 王聆雨 Li Yunyan 李昀燕 Liu Weikang 刘唯康 Lyu Yidi 吕祎迪 Wei Shubo 魏 

书博 Wu Yunxi 吴韫希 Zhang Zijing 张紫荆 Zheng Qinyuan 郑钦元 Ge Tiantian 葛田田 Lyu Danyang 吕丹阳 Li Keyan 

李可言 Liang Yuhaoyuan 梁玉皓元 Wang Qiaosheng 王乔生 Mu Congyu 穆聪雨 Luo Tian 罗恬 Li Peijia 李佩珈 Sun 

Weicheng 孙炜程 Li Jiayao 李家耀 Christy Natasha Yan Chut Hang Fong Choy Bryan Jonatan Nursalim Ivan 

Permana Tshomo Namgay Wong Derry Wibowo Guo Yilin 郭奕麟 Zhou Yingtong 周映同 Liu Yueya 刘玥雅 Deng 

Zhixin 邓致欣 Huang Kuolin 黄扩霖 Chen Yinhai 陈寅海 Zhang Tianzong 张天纵 Wan Zijian 万子健 Xiao Yixin 肖奕欣 

Xue Qi 薛骐 Xue Ningzi 薛宁紫 Xu Jiawei 许佳炜 Zhu Chenghan 朱澄涵 Li Lingbo 李凌波 Huang Minyu 黄珉钰 Zhu Qi 

朱琦 Kong Xinyi 孔心怡 Zhang Zhaohan 张照晗 Bai Yuliang 白宇梁 Zhou Xiaofei 周笑非 Zhao Rui 赵睿 Liu Zecheng 

刘则呈 Chen Xi 陈曦 Wang Hefeng 王河峰 Chen Sisi 陈思思 Ge Yunlin 葛韵琳 Shen Xinyu 沈欣语 Zhang Yu 张宇 Bian 

Xingchao 卞兴超 Chen Jingyuan 陈静媛 Fan Jiawei 范家玮 Gu Feijie 顾斐杰 Hu Wenxuan 胡文轩 Jin Siwang 金思 

王 Li Shuqi 李书琦 Lyu Zheng 吕铮 Ren Chenjia 任晨嘉 Shao Ziyi 邵紫怡 Wang Zhiling 王智灵 Wu Yelun 吴冶仑 Wu 

Yubang 吴煜邦 Xu Shuyang 徐书扬 Yang Kaiwen 杨楷文 Yang Yue 杨玥 Zhang Junrui 张君睿 Zhang Yuqing 章宇晴 

Guan Xueli 关雪丽 Zhu Qiniu 朱骑牛 Song Wenxuan 宋文萱 Huang Wenyi 黄文逸 Chen Xinyi 陈辛夷 Chen Ying 陈颖 

Chen Yujian 陈予健 Guo Hanshen 郭瀚绅 Huang Xinyi 黄心怡 Yang Jiaye 杨佳叶 Zhan Panyuan 詹攀远 Zhan Xiang 詹 

翔 Lin Zhaoyuan 林赵圆 Qian Jieyu 钱婕虞 Shen Yingying 沈迎莹 Zheng Qi 郑琦 Chen Zeheng 陈泽衡 Ni Shuyu 倪抒 

予 Qiu Zili 裘子立 Shi Xiongzhe 施雄哲 Wang Qiuhao 王秋昊 Xia Runhan 夏润涵 Xie Wenze 谢文则 Xu Xinyi 徐昕逸 Yu 

Yiyin 俞奕吟 Zhu Tianfeng 朱天丰 Lu Xuerong 路雪融 Ma Rongsen 马荣森 Song Yufeng 宋雨峰 Liu Yichang 刘奕苌 Lyu 

Jiaheng 吕佳恒 Luo Chunwen 罗淳文 Miao Yiyuan 苗译元 Tong Xin 童心 Wang Shuting 王舒婷 Zhuang Yinfei 庄寅霏 

Guo Yefei 郭烨非 Li Jianuo 李佳诺 Gu Yu 古钰 Qiao Haoyue 乔皓月 Sun Sitan 孙斯坦 Yan Jiayi 闫佳宜 Zhao Xiayu 赵 

夏雨 Chen Ziqi 陈紫琦 Li Lun 李伦 Liu Xiangli 刘湘礼 Wang Jiaqi 王嘉琪 Zou Yuanjie 邹元杰 Feng Yi 冯怡 Li Jiayang 

李佳杨 Liu Chang 刘畅 Xiong Manxin 熊曼馨 Yang Yuxi 杨雨曦 Chen Yimu 陈怡沐 Feng Leilin 冯蕾霖 Feng Tinghao 冯 

庭淏 Zhai Haomiao 翟浩渺 Zhang Jinyu 张锦宇 Zhang Zhengyang 张正阳 Zhao Xinzhuo 赵鑫卓 Lin Wei 林蔚 Chen 

Yixi 陈羿西 Tang Yingxuan 唐颖璇 Cai Zhuoling 蔡卓玲 He Linzhi 何林芷 He Zhengcheng 何政承 Yang Jiarun 杨佳 

润 Jiang Xinping 蒋心平 Lu Lanxin 鲁兰心 He Jiaying 何佳莹 Li Yilun 李逸伦 Shi Yue 施越 Zhang Zhiyuan 张致远 

Chen Xuanyang 陈宣仰 Song Lu 宋鹿 Chen Sijia 陈思嘉 Xu Xueyan 许雪妍 Cheng Runhao 程润昊 Cheng Yiming 程 

奕明 Gao Tianyi 高天轶 Li Xu 李栩 Tang Yifan 唐一凡 Wang Bingyao 汪丙尧 Zhang Dayong 章大勇 Mei Xinyun 梅馨云 

Cheng Anran 程安然 Lin Yuanyuan 林园园 Zeng Muyuan 曾慕远 He Huiling 何蕙伶 Ding Yanwen 丁彦文 Yang Lujia 

杨璐嘉 Hu Qixuan 胡启铉 Mao Xuesong 毛雪松 Dai Xinru 戴昕茹 Gao Chuanlin 高川琳 Luan Chenqi 栾晨琦 Song 

Jiahui 宋家辉 Xu Xiaotong 许晓彤 Zhang Jingjing 张晶晶 Zhao Jinsong 赵劲松 Zhang Yunfan 张云帆 Jia Haochun 

贾皓淳 Tang Weiyin 唐维寅 Sun Jiaxu 孙家旭 Wang Shen 王申 Fan Jiaqi 樊嘉麒 Li Rongcheng 李容丞 Li Yuanxin 李 

沅欣 Wang Yixuan 汪逸轩 Ye Yuhan 冶钰涵 Wang Wenxi 王文茜 Jin Hanlin 金瀚林 Wang Haiyi 王海懿 Gao Jian 高鉴 

Jian Yujie 简钰杰 Li Yurui 李禹锐 Liu Yuheng 刘雨蘅 Liu Ziyu 刘梓钰 Mu Hongyuan 穆宏源 Xia Fengyun 夏凤云 Xu 

Zihui 徐子惠 Gong Yifu 弓益夫 Pei Zhizhen 裴至真 Wang Qi 王祺 Huang Wenjunlan 黄雯君兰 Li Yusong 黎雨松 Qiao 

Yuhe 谯雨荷 Song Dingkun 宋定锟 Wang Lilin 王俪霖 Yuan Gujunfeng 袁谷俊峰 Zhang Haoning 张昊宁 Zhang Xinran 

张鑫然 Zheng Xiayi 郑夏怡 Che Yue 车越 Sun Chenlu 孙晨露 Yao Yiming 姚艺铭 Gao Huanyue 高欢悦 Gao Tong 高 

彤 He Yuting 贺钰婷 Hou Wenyu 侯文钰 Kang Bohan 康博涵 Duan Chongyuan 段崇源 Li Siyi 李思懿 Li Yunfei 李昀 

霏 Su Qinze 苏沁泽 Sun Zhuoping 孙卓平 Wang Haochong 王昊翀 Wang Mingyu 王茗宇 Wang Yiteng 王奕腾 Wang 

Yingzhuo 王樱焯 Xue Haotian 薛皓天 Zhang Hanzheng 张涵峥 Zhang Min 张敏 Liu Mengting 刘梦婷 You Wenjing 尤 

文静 Liu Su 刘苏 Gopari Ricky Chan Tak Ming 陈德铭 Lee Woonyoung Nachimuthu Senthilkumar Sachin Kumar 

Pandowo Andrew Sadien Iohans Shekar Tjahjadi Deilsika Jenness Benjamin Colin Madiarova Aimeerim 

Deng Siqi 邓斯琪 Duan Yawen 段雅文 Ma Bo 马博 Wang Yitong 王乙童 Chen Jiaci 陈嘉词 Li Jiayi 李佳忆 

Bissoonauth Chitraj Ten Stanislav Seewoo Nikhil Li Wenwen 李雯雯 Tan Jing Xiang Leung Kei Marie Ornella 

Isabella Chen Liuyi 陈柳依 Lai Tong Cindy Wei Ping Purmah Ghashil Singh Ward Iii Robert Edward Liu 

Zhaorui 刘赵蕊 Pico Perez Daniela Marilu Yan Limei 严丽玫 Zhang Caoyi 张曹谊 Espitia Garcia Camilo Eduardo

311 

312 

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE 

XI'AN JIAOTONG-LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY 

ACADEMIC STAFF 



Head of Department 

Ph.D., Welsh School of Architecture, 

Cardiff University (UK) 


Ph.D., Architecture, University of Kent 

(UK) 

M.Sc, Architectural History, Bartlett 

School of Architecture, UCL (UK) 

M.Arch, Architecture, Royal Danish 

Academy of Fine Arts (DK) 

Licensed Architect (DK) 


Ph.D., China Academy of Art (CN) 

MSc, Columbia University (US) 

B. Arch, New Jersey Institute of 

Technology, Albert Dorman Honors 

College (US) 

Peta Carlin 

Ph.D., RMIT University (AU) 

M.A. (Media Arts), RMIT University (AU) 

B.A. (Hons) (Visual Communications), 

RMIT University (AU) 

B.Arch., RMIT University (AU) 

Marco Cimilo 

Ph.D., Sapienza University of Rome (IT) 

MArch, Sapienza University of Rome 

(IT) 

Registered Architect (IT) 

Pierre Alain Croset 

Dipl. Arch., Ecole Polytechnique 

Fédérale de Lausanne (CH) 

Registered Architect (CH and IT) 


Ph.D., Politecnico di Milano (IT) 

March, Politecnico di Milano (IT) 

BArch, Politecnico di Milano (IT) 


Yiping Dong 

Ph.D., Tongji University (CN) 

MArch, Tongji University (CN) 

BArch, Tongji University (CN) 


Ph.D. Fine Arts, Paris 1 P-Sorbonne 

University (FR) 

MA Fine Arts, Paris 1 P-Sorbonne 

University (FR) 

MArch, ENSArchitecture Paris- 

Belleville (FR) 

Registered Arch DPLG (FR) 


Ph.D., Royal Melbourne Institute of 

Technology University (AU) 

Ph.D., University of Kassel (DE) 

MEd equiv., University of Kassel (DE) 

Philip Fung 

MArch, Chinese University of Hong 

Kong (CN) 

BSSc (Architectural Studies), Chinese 

University of Hong Kong (CN) 

RIBA 


Ph.D., Brandenburg University of 

Technology (DE) 

Dipl-Ing Arch, Universität Fridericiana 

zu Karlsruhe (DE) 

Licensed and registered Architect, 

Berlin Chamber of Architects (DE) 

Jiawen Han 

Ph.D., Architecture, University of New 

South Wales (AU) 

M.Arch, Dalian University of 

Technology (CN) 

Richard Hay 

MA, Royal College of Art (UK) 

BA (Hons), Kingston University 

London (UK) 

ARB RIBA 


Ph.D., University of Hong Kong (HK) 

MArch, University of Hong Kong (HK) 

Dipl-Ing Arch, University of Kassel (DE) 

José Ángel Hidalgo Arellano 

PhD. Universidad Politécnica de 

Madrid (ES) 

MArch, Universitat Politécnica de 

Catalunya, Barcelona (ES) 

Registered Architect (ES) 


Ph.D., The Bartlett, University College 

London (UK) 

MA, Royal College of Art, London (UK) 

Moon Keun Kim 

Ph.D., Architecture, Swiss Federal 

Institute of Technology Zurich (CH) 

M.Sc, Architectural Engineering, 

Pennsylvania State University at 

University Park (US) 

M.Sc, Engineering Acoustics, 

Technical University of Denmark (DK) 

M.Sc, Architecture, Yonsei University 

(KR) 


Ph.D., School of Advanced Studies 

'G. d'Annunzio' (IT) 

BA+MA, Università degli Studi 

Gabriele d'Annunzio, Department of 

Architecture (IT) 



M.Arch, Architectural Engineering, 

Catholic University of Leuven (BE) 

Sofia Qiuroga 

Ph.D., Polytechnic School of 

Architecture, ETSAM (ES) 

Dipl. Arch + M. Arch., Polytechnic 

School of Architecture, ETSAM (ES) 

Registered Architect COAM. (ES) 


Ph.D. Candidate, Universitat 

Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, 

2015 - (ES) 

M.Arch, Staatliche Hochschule für 

Bildende Künste, Frankfurt (DE) 

Dipl.-Ing. Arch., University of Belgrade 

(RS) 


Ph.D., 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 (US) 

Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.), Professional, 

School of Architecture, National 

Technical University of Athens (GR) 


Ph.D., Architecture, Politecnico di 

Torino (IT) 

M.Sc, GSAPP Columbia University, 

Advanced Master, Architecture (US) 


Li-An Tsien 

Dipl. Arch., ISACF-La Cambre (BE) 

Dipl. Cand. Arch., ISACF-La Cambre 

(BE) 

Licensed Architect (BE) 


Ph.D., Universidad Politecnica de 

Madrid (ES) 

M.Sc., Universidad Europea de Madrid 

(ES) 

M.Arc., Universidad Politecnica de 

Valencia (ES) 

Registered Architect (ES) 

Glen Wash 

Ph.D., University of Tokyo (JP) 

MEng, University of Tokyo (JP) 

Dipl Arch, Catholic University of 

Valparaiso (CL) 

Licensed Architect (CL) 


Ph.D., University of Plymouth (UK) 

Pgr Dipl Media Art, Karlsruhe 

University of Art and Design (DE) 

Dipl-Ing Arch, University of Karlsruhe, 

TH (DE) 

Chartered Architect (DE) 

Junjie Xi 

Ph.D., University of Liverpool (UK) 

M.A. University of Leeds (UK) 

B.A. Anhui University of Architecture 

(CN) 

Jing Yang 

Ph.D., University of Nottingham (UK) 

MArch, Southeast University (CN) 

BArch, Southwest Jiaotong University 

(CN) 

Part-time Tutors 


Bing Lin 

Darcy Chang 

Dirk Zschuncke 

Dong Cheng 



Joan Cane 

Jue Qiu 


Kevin Sun 

Liang Xu 

Liwen Zhu 

Lorenzo Acciai 



Xiani Wang 

Yiting Pan 

Yiwen Zhang 

Yongpeng Liu 

Teaching Assistants 

Stanislav Ten 

Nikhil Seewoo 

Robert Ward 

Daniela Pico 

Wenwen Li 

Cindy Lai Tong 

Ornella Leung Kei 

Jiaci Chen 

Mengchuan Liu 

Yinxiao Zhu 

Qian Lin 

Quanqing Lu 

Nan Ye 

Xi Chen 

Yaqin Zuo 

Xiaohan Chen 

Supporting Staff 

Yan Zhu, Cluster Manager 

Lili Chen, Department Secretary 

Ma Lin, Department Secretary 

Jian Chen, Lab Technician 

Jiang Dong, Lab Technician 

Wenhao Li, Lab Assistant 

Xin Yao, Lab Assistant

313 

ALUMNI 

XJTLU Degree 

BEng(Hons) Architecture, July 2016 

Zhao Zhe | 赵哲 

314 

Further Studies 

Master of Architecture, University of 

California, Berkeley, since 2017 


Since the first graduation of students from the Bachelor degree in 

2014 and the Master’s degree in 2017, our network of alumni continues 

to grow, and to make us very proud. Future graduates of XJTLU’s 

Department of Architecture can now look forward to joining a 

global network of successful alumni who are making a difference in 

universities, organisations and recognised award-winning architecture 

practices – all over the world. Many alumni have stories to tell that are 

extraordinary and provide evidence of their excellence. 

This year, we have introduced a new section to the yearbook to give 

our alumni space to tell their stories. On the following pages, you will 

find the stories of eight exemplary graduates of the Bachelor degree. 

They give a sense of the achievement that has come to typify XJTLU’s 

Architecture alumni in general. 

If you are a graduate of our Architecture programmes but are not yet 

connected to our alumni WeChat groups, please contact the Department’s 

alumni coordinator Claudia Westermann at Arc.Alumni@xjtlu.edu.cn, 

so you can be added. Claudia will also be happy to receive updates from 

you. E-mail to let her know where you are and what you do. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Over the four years that I studied architecture in XJTLU, I developed a deep understanding and love of 

architecture. In the second semester of my third year, a workshop brought me to Cape Town. The aim of the 

workshop was to generate equitable guidelines for future urban planning and to increase access to affordable 

housing. It was the first time I thought about the social responsibilities of architecture and the architect. 

After my undergraduate degree I have worked for one year in practice in Shanghai. I realized that architecture 

is a very broad discipline. Except designing buildings, during my Master’s I have also learnt to work with 

technology, such as VR and AR. It adds a new dimension to architecture. I interned in the landscape department 

of AECOM office after finishing the first year of postgraduate studies, learning landscape design and how to 

design architecture and surrounding landscape as a whole. I believe my experience will be beneficial to my 

future study and practice. 

▲ Sequential section LA Music Center 

A project that I designed in the first year of my master study in UC 

Berkeley. The sequential section shows the the different spaces in the 

building and their rhythm. 

▲ Rendering LA Music Center 

A project that I designed in the first year of my master study in UC 

Berkeley. The rendering shows the rhythm that is created by the 

structure and the materials.

315 



Occupation 

Intern Architect 

Bian Zhifan | 卞之凡 


BEng(Hons) Architecture, 2016 

Dai Anni | 戴安妮 

316 


Master of Architecture, McGill 

University, Montreal, Canada; graduated 

May 2018. 

Current Employer 

Arno Matis Architecture, Vancouver, 

Canada 


Master Program (MArch), University of Applied 

Arts Vienna, Studio Greg Lynn, since 2018. 


I had four years of wonderful architectural study at XJTLU, and then continued my studies in a Master 

programme at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. After graduation, I was recruited by an up and coming 

Vancouver architectural company for seven months. I have registered in the Intern Architect Program of AIBC, 

which is the first step to obtain the Canadian Architect License. 

Life is an adventure. Each move required me to adapt to a different climate, culture, pace of life, as well as 

different local building codes. Even though I have now been a couple of years in Canada, I still miss the time I 

spent at XJTLU. Professors offered me great favors. I also remember the many nights we spent in the studio with 

diligent classmates, an unforgettable memory. 

A mixed-use development, including high-end hotel, retail, as well 

as a residential tower by office Arno Matis in Downtown Vancouver, 

as a new gateway of Burrard Street. I worked on the project for five 

months. It just passed the rezoning inquiry stage. 

A group of three residential buildings is located at Westside of 

Vancouver by office Arno Matis. This is the project I am involved in 

right now. It is at the Development Permit stage. I work on producing 

the drawing package and solving design problems with the team. 

XJTLU influenced me profoundly not only by teaching me fundamental knowledge of architecture but by 

educating me as a critical architect. Having acquired the ability to constantly challenge myself and to learn 

independently, I was able to seek my own goal in the architectural profession. I took the chance in my Final Year 

Project to elaborate my vision of an architecture based on living rules. My architectural projects and interests 

fostered at XJTLU led me to Studio Lynn at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where I will continue my 

professional exploration. 

After my undergraduate degree at XJTLU, I worked at Farrells (Shanghai) for over 1 year and Farrells (Hong 

Kong) for 6 months. It was the broad knowledge learned at XJTLU and the ability to take up new challenges 

and to study by myself that allowed me to learn new skills and knowledge efficiently within short time. The 

directors at Farrells appreciate this ability in XJTLU students. 

Xiamen Winland International Finance 

Center (under construction) 

A rendering of Xiamen Winland International Finance Center that I 

worked on at Farrells (Shanghai) for Winland, in collaboration with 

Thornton Tomasetti, Aurecon, PFT, BIAD. 

Hangzhou Winland Daguan Mixed Use 

Development 

A rendering of Hangzhou Winland Daguan Mixed Use Development that 

I worked on at Farrells (Hong Kong) for Winland, in collaboration with 

ARUP, UAD. 

Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters- 

Evergrande Center (Competition) 

A rendering of Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters-Evergrande 

Center that I worked on at Farrells (Hong Kong) for Evergrande, in 

collaboration with Thornton Tomasetti.

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Chien-hua Huang | 黃建樺 



Occupation 

Junior Architect 

Li Yirong | 李依融 

318 


Master of Architecture, Greg Lynn Studio – 

University of Applied Arts Vienna, since 2017. 


Master of Architecture, University of 

New South Wales, 2018 


DEM (Aust) Pty Ltd, Sydney 


I enjoy how the discourse of architecture can engage in different social, technological and cultural contexts 

and conditions, and how architectural knowledge is constantly challenged by the transformations of the cities, 

technologies, science, etc. 

Since graduation, I have worked in Shanghai, Taiwan, Helsinki and Vienna on various projects from urban 

renovation to participatory design-build with refugees. These projects have taught me how to realize the 

potentials of architecture beyond aesthetic and programmatic requirements. 

The three years in XJTLU offered me opportunities to study architecture from different perspectives. I learnt 

architecture in a multi-disciplinary context, which provided an important basis and has allowed me to practice 

in all phases of the design and construction process and to successfully address inconceivable challenges. 

◀ Physical Model of Tensile-based Tensegrity 

Structural Design Research 

Developing from Frei Otto’s tensile structure 

design methodology, the project investigates 

how tensegrity structures can be driven by 

designed-form/surface and can support 

space in between multiple layers. 

◀ Augmented Reality Projection on Physical 

Model 

An augmented reality (AR) representation of 

the digital model of tensile-based tensegrity 

structure, projected onto a physical model. 

The AR technique assists in the calibration 

of digital structural behavior by matching it 

with the physical behavior. 

As a junior architect, I really enjoy the variety of options the profession offers, not only in projects, but also 

in the role we could play. Working in a multi-disciplinary practice, I am exposed to all aspects of the building 

process, which helps me develop continuous skills from sketch stage to contract documentation. 

XJTLU and UNSW both play a vital role in preparing me well for working within the industry. Over the six years 

as a student, I was exposed to critical ways of thinking about built architecture and learnt to keep questioning 

apparent facts. 

One of the highlights during my undergraduate studies was to be engaged partly in the design of the XJTLU 

Museum, and to be able to witness the whole process from concept design to construction. Running parallel to 

education and practice, being a teaching assistant in UNSW is something else I enjoyed. By teaching and helping 

students, I have learnt to test and reshape my idea of the built environment. It has provided me with a broader 

knowledge of the architecture profession. 

A sectional perspective of the civic tower designed in UNSW graduate 

studio, named Inside out +Outside in. 

A perspective of the civic tower designed in UNSW graduate studio, 

named Inside out +Outside in. 

A series of rendering of the civic tower designed in UNSW graduate 

studio, named Inside out +Outside in.

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Liao Longtai | 廖隆泰 


BEng (Hons) Architecture, July 2017 

Occupation 

Internship architect 

Shen Xiaoya | 沈筱雅 

320 


Master of Architecture, University of Michigan, 

since 2017. 


Master of Science, Politecnico di 

Milano, since 2018 

Former Employer 

Kokaistudios, Shanghai 


I received my Bachelor degree from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University with first class honors in 2016. Before 

going to graduate school, I worked in Shanghai as a junior architect with TM Studio, Shanghai, where I gained 

experience on historical district renovation and cultural designs. I will graduate from the University of Michigan 

with a Master of Architecture degree in 2019. Currently I am working as a summer intern in San Francisco. 

The architectural education I gained in XJTLU is unique and incredible. I really cherish the memory of my 

studio life in EB building. It was hard but full of joy. For me, XJTLU is where my architectural life began, and 

the things I have learnt there build up who I am now. The courses I have taken there are so useful, and some 

of the reading materials in my graduate school’s theory course were even the same as those I read in XJTLU’s 

philosophy of art classes. As one of the first few graduates of Department of Architecture, I am so glad to see 

the great progress our department has made. I am so proud to be an XJTLUer. 

Studio work: SO-SCOPIC 

The project is an exploration of scopic 

regimes based on Cyberpunk and 

postmodernism architecture. 

Studying at XJTLU for me was a process of self-exploration. Architecture is a subject that relates to various 

fields of knowledge. Over the four years that I studied at XJTLU, I learnt to think independently and follow 

my own interest. After graduation, I joined Kokaistudios for a year in practice. This one-year work placement 

expanded my horizon. I worked on a varied range of projects from a small-scale interior renovation to a largescale 

urban renewal. I realized that working on projects that make use of existing structures and adapt them was 

deeply attracting. The design skills, and the knowledge in the humanities, and in environmental and structural 

design that I learned at university were all indispensable in design projects of adaptive reuse. Although 

renovation projects are not the most popular among architects, I have decided to follow my interests. For my 

postgraduate studies, I have therefor enrolled in a programme at the Politecnico di Milano with a focus on 

working in historical contexts. The education in XJTLU taught me to think independently and walk the way that 

fits me, not the way that seems to fit everybody. 

◀ Changning District Urban Regeneration 

Schematic Design 

This is a rendering of an urban regeneration 

project that I assisted in designing at 

Kokaistudios. This project encompasses 

a building renovation as well as a new 

architecture design. 

◀ Shopping Mall Interior Renovation 

This is a rendering of an interior renovation 

project that I assisted in designing at 

Kokaistudios. This shopping mall is located 

in the city center of Shanghai. It aims to 

provide a new shopping experience for 

women of the 21st century.

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BEng(Hons) Architecture, July 31, 2017 

Occupation 

Architect 

Sui Yingda | 隋英达 



Occupation 

Architectural Designer 

Wu Dong | 吴冬 

322 


Master of Architecture, TU Delft, since 

2018 


Greenberg Farrow, Shanghai 


Lukstudio Shanghai 


During my year of practice after graduation from the undergraduate programme, I experienced the architectural 

market from multiple perspectives, first as an intern of historical building conservation in ECADI, then as 

research assistant in XJTLU’s Department of Architecture, and finally as an architect with Greenberg Farrow 

Shanghai. The three different jobs allowed me gain insights into both professional research and real industry, 

ranging from a medium scale regeneration project to a high-rise complex. 

Faithfully, the variety of training I received during my undergraduate studies in XJTLU has provided me with 

a strong basis to take all of the above mentioned opportunities. The SURF project I did in 2016 has led me into 

the realm of conservation. The module ‘Professional Practice’ enabled me to understand the RIBA system of 

workflow and management in Greenberg Farrow quickly. Additionally, I am very grateful for the support from 

all my tutors in successfully applying for the Master’s at TU Delft, even after graduation. 

CBD Towers A2-A5 in Jiangbei New District, 

Nanjing 

An aero-view rendering of the Jiangbei CBD A2-A5 Towers I helped design in Greenberg Farrow. 

“We believe that the ‘value’ of architecture lies in the quality of space, in the experience of its most architectonic 

dimension. “_ Sofia von Ellrichshausen 

Over the past four years since graduation, I have worked with the offices Neri & Hu, and Lukstudio, both based 

in Shanghai. They have offered me opportunities to be involved in design projects of various types and scales, 

such as hospitality, retail, office, building renovation and product design. The experience of working in practice 

has assisted me to develop an understanding of materiality, details and construction methods, and how these 

factors together shape space and its spatial value. 

Studying architecture at XJTLU was an unforgettable experience that helped me to know what design is and 

how to design, as well as how to use drawing as a tool to represent design ideas. Importantly, the programme 

helped me to understand how architecture and other disciplines interact. During my short career, I have also 

learned that the spatial value of architecture needs to be thought always from two directions. There is not only 

a designer, but also someone who uses the space, and who also has emotions and memories. 

◀ Bloomberg office renovation, Eeri & Hu 

The client’s brief was to design a staircase 

to connect the 3 different floors of their 

office with the explicit rule that this stair 

should to be used daily as the only vertical 

connection within the office to encourage 

employee interaction. 

◀ MCM Seoul Flagship store, Eeri & Hu 

The project brief asked for a 

renovation of an existing 5 

story building with an attached 

parking tower as the new flagship 

store for MCM in Seoul’s luxury 

district of Gangnam. 

◀ ARTHAUS Retail store, Eeri & Hu 

Located in the cosmopolitan Xinyi district of 

Taipei, the brand’s department store flagship 

design features

323 



Occupation 

Architect 

You Xinzhu | 由馨竹 


BEng(Hons)Architecture, July 2017 

Occupation 

Architect 

Zhang Chenke | 张晨珂 

324 


Master of Architecture, KU Leuven, 

since 2018 


Office of Urban Renewal (OUR), 

Shanghai 


GreenbergFarrow, Shanghai 


I am interested in art, history, philosophy, science and technology and I pursue architecture as a profession 

because I regard it as a subject where everything comes together. Additionally, over the undergraduate years of 

architecture study, I generally realized the gap between economic developments and the aesthetic levels of the 

public in China. Architecture serves people and it is the kind of art that can be touched and experienced by the 

majority people in their daily lives. The purpose of architecture is to raise men's spirits. 

I have always appreciated my undergraduate study. Majoring in architecture in Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool 

University, has equipped me with a solid foundation for architecture and opened a door for me to Europe. I am 

now looking forward to starting my next academic voyage at KU Leuven which is one of the most innovative 

universities in Europe. 

◀ Chenghua industrial heritage conservation 

project 

Renderings of the Chenghua industrial 

heritage conservation project that 

I participated at OUR for Chengdu 

government. 

The variety of courses in XJTLU has ensured that I have become a qualified architect being able to address 

architectural tasks from all perspectives. I excelled in Construction and Materials, which helped me a lot in my 

practice afterwards. I learned how to view architecture from a critical perspective through the Architecture 

Theory module. Philosophy of Aesthetics profoundly influenced me by bringing sensibility to my design. All 

these experiences in XJTLU have become solid foundations for my future career. 

Currently, I am working on a high-end commercial complex named JC Mandarin located in West Nanjing Road in 

Shanghai. My tasks include construction detailing design, design of detail parts (soffit, canopy, roof MEP fence, 

lighting strategy…). I have also coordinated with Curtain Wall Consultants and Lighting Consultants, adjusting 

the design based on tech codes and in response to technical difficulties. Apart from this, I am honoured to be 

responsible for XJTLU Film School in the construction documents review and site coordination stage. I have 

learned a lot in practice, such as project management, BIM coordination, building techniques, team cooperation 

and so on. 

XJTLU Filmschool, Greenberg Farrow

325 

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ARB/RIBA Part 2, Diploma, Architectural Association 

School of Architecture, UK, since 2017 

Zhang Cuicheng | 张璀宬 

ACADEMIC POSITION 

STATEMENT 


After completing my Bachelor at XJTLU, I worked for a year in practice as Assistant Architect while also 

working as a part-time film production designer. Subsequently, I went to London to study for a Diploma In 

Architecture, RIBA Part 2, at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. 

XJTLU was my starting point in Architecture. Most importantly, the undergraduate programme assisted me to 

develop critical approaches to architecture from various viewpoints. While I was given a solid foundation in 

Architecture, I was also taught that it is important to find my own way, to maintain passion for Architecture, and 

simultaneously, not to be afraid of competitive environments. 

Today, circuses and zoos are shut down 

due to various shifts in human sensibilities. 

This project proposes the redefinition of 

the circus typology by re-considering the 

relationship between humans and animals. 

Chisinau Circus is transformed into an 

Animal Research Centre for local and 

endangered species where the animals 

inhabit luxury cages providing adequate 

environments, while human visitors enjoy 

the spectacle of the animals’ daily routine 

instead of a rehearsed performance. 

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 two years, 

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’ creative and 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.

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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 usercentred 

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: 

● 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 China and beyond. 

● 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 inter-and 

trans-disciplinary research between the humanities, 

science, technology and sustainability. 

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 practice and research academics 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, sustainability 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 

● The following key points are based on staff views, 

student feedback, internal University reports, and 

external reports by examiners and professional 

bodies: 

● International validation of the MArchDes degree 

in our Architectural Deisgn programmme at Part 

2 level by the Royal Institute of British Architects 

(RIBA) in February 2018, this also a first for a 

mainland Chinese University. 

● In the Summer 2018, the first time in mainland 

China that the RIBA Part 3 MEAP course was 

offered by a Chinese University, 100 years ago our 

partnering university in Liverpool offered this 

course for the first time in the UK. 

● 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.

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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. 

● The Design Research Centre which seeks to 

actively involve staff, students and local practicing 

architects in the development of pilot projects. 

● Establishment of the Built Environment Physics 

Lab, to offer cutting edge research in the realm of 

sustainability. 

● 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 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.

https://www.facebook.com/ 

xjtluarchitecture/ 

@architecture.xjtlu 

https://www.linkedin.com/ 

company/xjtlu-architecture/ 

The official WeChat channel of XJTLU's Department of Architecture 

publishes information in both English and Chinese on our educational 

programmes and events. To receive our news, please scan the QR code 

using your WeChat application. 

西交利物浦大学建筑系拥有高度国际化的教学和学术团队 , 并以国际化视 

野积极探讨中国以及世界的建筑与城市问题。我们传授创新力、批判性思维、 

参与能力以及实验精神 , 鼓励学生探索建筑中的美学和科学。本官方平台发 

布权威信息 , 服务校友学生以及家长。

© 2018 Department of Architecture, XJTLU 

Edited by Jing Yang 

Building DB 111 Ren’ai Road 

SIP Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District 

Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China 215123 

www.xjtlu.edu.cn

YEARBOOK 2017 - 2018 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

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