YEARBOOK 2018 - 2019 | XJTLU DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

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INTRODUCTION
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2018-2019 YEARBOOK Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Department of Architecture 西 交 利 物 浦 大 学 建 筑 系
This yearbook is testimony to the 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 clearly demonstrated in the diverse modules
recorded within this publication. The postgraduate
cohort explored in depth design challenges and
explored the architectural design opportunities these
offer with an incredible rigor and clear passion to
architecture.
XJTLU architecture students have demonstrated
a remarkable drive and dynamic analytical
approach that is clearly reflected in the students’
work captured in this yearbook that can only be a
snapshot for the incredible work that our students
and colleagues do. We decided to introduce a series
of awards to reward these top achievements of our
students from first year undergraduate studies up to
the final year in the masters.
The international Doshi workshop held by Rajeev
Kathpalia in the summer 2019 was attended by
bachelor and master students of XJTLU. Students
provided dynamic and very diverse design
solutions to the given design challenge of an urban
intervention in Suzhou City. It is great to see the
enthusiasm with which the students engaged in the
vertical studio and produced remarkable proposals
and a fantastic exhibition. In the following academic
year, we will follow up with a workshop in India with
Doshi and Rajeev in the Indian context in Hyderabad.
The BEng Architecture Program is the powerhouse
of our department, capturing the largest students’
cohort. The work is explorative, vibrant, holistic in
its approach and is a clear testimony of the modules
taught and demonstrates the skills and abilities of our
students obtained at the department.
The architecture department at XJTLU is the only
one in China that offers RIBA part 1 +2 validated
degree programs. In addition, we are offering RIBA
part 3 preparatory courses. We further initiated
the RIBA Chapter China that will be launched this
summer. This clearly outlines our commitment to
practice.
Once again architectural academic staff received
teaching awards’, and our staff and students won
diverse national and international competitions once
again this year. We are very proud to have such an
active architectural educational environment that
enables all of this.
The department has held over 15 extra curricula
workshops covering arts, crafts and technology,
these workshops were filled with students and staff
from the department as well as from the Design
cluster. Further over 15 guest lectures were hosted
by the department bringing the best national and
international architects and academics to the
department.
The departments PhD students’ cohort is growing to
currently 12 students that form a nucleus of a young
vibrant research community that firmly positions
itself in between east and west thinking. Our staff
are actively engaged in fostering this research
momentum through their own work as well as
through interaction through a series of workshop,
symposia and through participations in forums and
conferences nationally as well as internationally.
We further organized an international conference
with over 100 participants and guests entitled
‘Across boundaries’ that brought together practice,
architectural accreditation boards as well as
academics, turning the architecture department into
the central hub for practice and academic discussions.
This all would have not been possible without the
incredible drive and commitment of our staff and
students and support of the architectural practice
community. The department formed the department
advisory board from key architectural practices to
act as a sound board for the future development of
the department.
Our international students’ numbers are rising
across the undergraduate and postgraduate cohort,
testimony of the architecture departments success
and growing recognition within the architecture
world.
I would like to thank all the colleagues and students
for their support they did an incredible amount
of work. The Department has received incredible
support from the University as well as the larger
community and we look forward to the exciting next
phase were we come closer together with Industrial
Design Department as the new Architecture and
Design Department. We look forward to push
the boundaries of International education in this
East-West context as well as the possibilities and
opportunities for our graduates. Enabling them to
become true leaders of the next generation to face
challenges and engage with the great opportunities
ahead.
Prof Gisela Loehlein
Head of Department of Architecture