Since 2016, I’ve been studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And graduated with a BS in architecture studies degree. Since graduation, I've never stopped my curiosity, not only because it would advance my career, but also because l believe sustainable design can help solve some of our biggest challenges, namely global warming and resource scarcity. In this regard, I'm currently continuing three years of studying and development at the University of Pennsylvania for a master’s degree.
The courses built up my skills and sensations of basic architectural design. Among various approaches that the teachers used to inspire us, I was hit by one who found me sleepy in the fieldwork on a riverbank. Instead of blaming me, he said, ‘Xiang, why not think about how you can make a place that is best for sleeping on the bank?’ My drowse suddenly went away and I became invigorated in the project. I felt seeing myself as one of the users an efficient way to address the design tasks. From then on, I always injected humanistic concerns into my design. I read humanistic architecture theories and I found them nourishing for projects. and I am proficient in Rhino, Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, Photoshop, KeyShot, Grasshopper, V-ray, Enscape, Lumion, etc.
After playing a leading role in winning a Carnival Float 2021 Schenk-Woodman Competition for UPenn scholarship, design is not only about physical structure but also about the social implications, because self is formed and expressed by the interaction with people and surroundings. Contemporary architecture has been complained for devoting too much to aesthetics rather than serving people.
I even conducted two internships to extend my experience with real projects and people’s needs. In the Second Institute of Architectural Design in Hubei and China Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute, my comprehension for humanistic concern was applied. But I felt unsatisfied, and I wanted to experience more places. I’ve gained the chance to exchange in Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Spain, where I suppose to learn about different cultures and observe more behavior that informs design.
China Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd, Shanghai, CN, Internship
Worked on the Hohhot Cultural Citizen Center for the first 2 months, mainly designing and modeling the staircase in the theater area and doing the new interior design drawing for the Gansu Provincial Museum expansion project. In the last 3 weeks, I joined the four-level three-dimensional traffic design team for Meikarta, Indonesia to solve the urban congestion problem, structure design,etc.
Xiangyang Second Architectural Design Institute, Xiangyang, CN, Internship
Using AutoCAD, Rhino to draw the floor plan and modeling of Xiangyang High Speed Railway Station. Design the exterior of the residential building for the new village demolition project. And animated the surroundings of the residential building using Lumion. The work was appreciated by unit leaders and colleagues.
China Shanghai Architectural Design & Research Institute
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, US, MArch, Architecture
To improve my knowledge of architecture and expand my thinking, I decided to enroll in graduate school and be accepted from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in the fall of 2020. To begin my three-year graduate study in architecture, even though I was unable to teach in person due to the covid, I continued to hold myself to a high standard, striving to do my best on every assignment and design and receiving excellent grades. I won first place in the Carnival Float 2021 Schenk-Woodman Competition and my work at Homa studio be selected to published in the school's journal "Pressing Matters 11".
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, US, Bachelors, Architecture Studies
During the school period, in addition to learning theoretical knowledge, I also visited many outstanding architecture works, learned about the space utilization, the application of urban planning and mechanics in architecture at Chicago Architecture Design & Planning Exhibition. Having the basic idea and knowledge for the concept of design, space organize, and basic dimension requirement, I did a lot of related modeling and research. My professional course grades were maintained at a great level and the tasks from the professor were accurately and quickly completed. The design ideas were often appreciated by the teachers. While serving as the President of ARCHChina, in addition to helping students solve their daily needs and academic assignment problems, we also approached graduate students and organized many lectures for the application of architectural software such as Rhino and Revit to answer the questions from architecture students. Our goal was to provide counseling for students who wanted to learn new software. The lectures achieved a good effect and received the praise from teachers and classmates. In these activities, we also accumulated our own professional knowledge and made great progress on teamwork capabilities. In my senior year in college, I applied a study abroad program to Spain. Spent whole senior year to receive education at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura del Vallés- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ETSAV-UPC) and study travel in Europe.
the Carnival Float 2021 Schenk-Woodman Competition, 1st Place
Asked students to consider the broader West Philadelphia community by imagining parade floats that would celebrate, honor, and recognize the neighborhood's rich history.
The competition's theme directly correlates with the spring semester's studio-wide project of a "counter-hegemonic carnival for the 52nd Street corridor in Philadelphia," explains Annette Fierro, associate chair and associate professor of architecture.
"Considering the history of structural racism, police brutality, neo-liberal withdrawal of basic public services, Penntrification, and relentless criminalization of West Philadelphia’s black community, teams of students are charged to design a float that can 'infect the body politic with insurrectionary dreams,' an architecture of temporary liberation."
Students were also asked to propose a collaboration with a local progressive activist organization to help realize their designs.
