Project: Application of VR and AR in Historical Architecture Restoration | Third Prize
ACTIVITIES
Founder, Director, and Principal Bamboo Flute | Jasmine Echo, Traditional Chinese Music Ensemble in University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | Nov. 2018-May. 2022
Principal Bamboo Flute | The Protagonists (Music Band)| Philadelphia, PA | Feb.2024-Present
Exhibition Staff | Hoyoverse at New York Comic Con (NYCC) | New York, NY | Oct. 2023
Member of Art Group, Publicity Department | University of California, Santa Barbara, Chinese Students and Scholars Association (UCSB CSSA) | Santa Barbara, CA | Sept. 2018-Jun. 2019
Performer and the Member of Publicity Department | University of California, Santa Barbara, BABA NANA Drama Club | Santa Barbara, CA | Jan. 2019-Dec. 2021
Urban Housing Design
Library Design
Cemetery Defamiliarization Design
Renovation Project of a Qing-dynasty Building in Nanjing
Intern Works, School Works, Previous Works, Painting and Design Works
MINGLING
Urban Housing Design
Sep. Dec. 2023
Philadelphia, PA
Crit: Brain Phillips
Nestled between Chinatown and the Avenue of the Arts, the gateway district is imagined as a cultural bridge, merging diverse communities of Philadelphia. Housing in this hybrid space represents a confluence of Chinatown’s rich heritage and Philadelphia’s broader community. As the second destination for new arrivals, people with different background, especially folk musicians arrive in Philadelphia. Drawing inspiration from the various performing art centers along Broad Street, the project serves the function of cultural communication, especially through music, a global language without boundary. The project promises to enliven both the street and its neighboring areas. MINGLING would become the new façade of Chinatown, and at the same time, will be an extension of Broad Street performing arts culture. The gateway district aspires to be more than just a space; it seeks to be a living witness to Philadelphia’s multicultural evolution.
1/4 Scale Chunk Model
1/64 Scale Site Model
ETHEREAL LUMINA
Library Design
Jan. - May. 2024
New York, NY
Crit: Lane Rick
Team Member: Yuxiang Hao
This library project redefines architectural boundaries through the innovative use of a cantilever system and space truss framework, creating a sense of levitation and seamless spatial transitions. The design strategically places the core to facilitate a natural flow, integrating public spaces filled with greenery that guide visitors upward beyond conventional floor limits.
The facade combines translucent fiberglass and aluminum to filter natural light effectively while pre-senting a visually engaging appearance. Inspired by local soundscapes, the design incorporates a unique grid pattern that echoes the library’s purpose and harmonizes with the environment. We aim for the building to not only serve as a functional space but also as an interactive beacon within the com-munity, with plans to integrate dynamic lighting that reacts to environmental conditions. This project is a testament to our commitment to innovative, sensory-rich, and environmentally responsive architecture.
Diagram
REBIRTH
Cemetery Defamiliarization Design
Jan. 2023
Philadelphia, PA Group Member: Nicholas Wong, Peehu Sinha
Rebirth challenges society’s view on death and cemeteries, which have been considered taboo and often kept away from cities. This contrast with the hope for an afterlife prompts the question of how death can play an active role in our society. Rebirth proposes integrating cemeteries back into the city by using natural organic reduction to convert human remains into fertile soil in self-contained capsules.
As Viktor Shklovsky states in Art as Technique (1917), perceptions are exchanged from era to era, and in the same vein, the general public’s perceptions of death have largely remained unchanged over time. Inversely, the meaning of death has evolved in recent history, and traditional after-death care has been called into question as technology and biology have advanced. So, the question arises: How can death play an active role in our society, and ease the dissonance that exists between our perception of death-care and our idea of an afterlife?
The capsules are arranged in a vertical pattern that contrasts with traditional ground-based cemeteries. This process is more environmentally friendly than cremation and burial, and the soil generated by the departed can be used for memorial purposes or environmental restoration efforts. Rather than placing burial plots outside the city, Rebirth harmonizes death and nature within the urban landscape of Philadelphia. This provides an alternative grieving method and offers a solution to urban land distribution issues.
Original Site Material Defamiliarization with MidJourny
Philadelphia’s urban landscape is saturated with brick, a result of clay abundantly present in the region. Historically, brick construction follows a strictly modular form and regimented methods of construction. Rebirth derives its altered configuration from AI-generated imagery, and utilizes its exterior interventions to symbolize the organic processes of the after-death care program. By suffusing the exterior with organic sculptural forms, the cladding seeks to defamiliarize our perceptions tied to traditional and industrial brick buildings.
Currently, Central Philadelphia primarily houses cemeteries that are associated to religious places of worship; for example, Christ Church in Society Hill and Mikveh Israel Cemetery in Washington Square. Due to rising land values and societal perceptions of death, all non-denominational cemeteries have long been exiled to the outskirts. With the use of a vertical model, Rebirth proposes a reintegration of cemeteries into the city fabric and offers a sustainable option of natural organic reduction. This approach defamiliarizes the perception of death; and imbues the space with a symbolic notion of afterlife. Counter to traditional cemeteries, often considered an inefficient use of urban space, Rebirth offers a dynamic and compact alternative through its methods of organization and natural processes embedded within it.
Interior Design
CROSSING TIME
Renovation Project of a Qing-dynasty Building in Nanjing
Mar. -Sep. 2021
Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Crit: Tiancheng Zhang
In a modern city with a long historical background, like Nanjing, the balance between restoring historical-cultural heritage and urbanization could be a fundamental problem. The government needs to consider the historical value and the commercial value of historical architecture simultaneously.
Pingshi Street Area is one of the relict of the Qing Dynasty in Nanjing, and the Naning government assigned the mission of the restoration and renovation to AESEU. This project, No.31 Lingzhuang Valley, is where I worked as an internship project in AESEU. My job is to make the modern elements into historical domestic architecture.
Site Analysis
Site History
I divided the buildings based on two standards--build time and current situation---to choose the study case in this area. The deeper color represents the older and more excellent sites. Among all these buildings, we choose No.31 Lingzhuang Valley as our project, built during the middle Qing dynasty, and has remained its structure till now.
The site is in the center of the old cloth market in Nanjing, and named with cloth materials like Pishi (Market of Leather) Street, Lingzhuang (House of Brocade Silk) Valley , Rongzhuang (House of Corduroy) Valley, Chuaibu (Strech Fabric) Fang.
Sales of Hanfu from 2018-2020
Since 2002, Hanfu Movement has started in China mainland to promote traditional Han culture as a social movement. In 2006, the first Hanfu store was established, and since then, more and more Chinese started to be interested in Hanfu as a fashion tendency. Since our site is in the center of the old cloth market in Nanjing, it is suitable to do a traditional workshop here.
New
V. OTHER WORKS
Selected
i. SEA SQUARE
Bingjie, Daijiro Nakayama, WEI Zihao, XU Jiayue
Selected Individual Works in Penn Design Studio
ii. AFTER COMPANION
Type: Individual Work
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Jan. May. 2023
Tutor: Viola Ago Pet Cemetry Defamiliarization Design
iii. TANGRAM EXPERIENCE
Hyperlapse Gallery Design
Type: Individual Work
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Oct. - Dec. 2022
Role: Designer
Tutor: Danielle Willems
History Thesis Visual Component
Selected Individual Works during undergraduate
v. METROPOLIS FABRIC
Reconstruction of Cafeteria in Ancient Architectural Complex
Type: Individual Work
Location: Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Date: Feb. Jun. 2021
Tutor: Tiancheng Zhang
vi. PHOENIX SONG
Vertical Cemetery Design
Type: Individual Work
Location: Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Date: Nov. - Dec. 2021
Tutor: Zenan Guo
Installation Arts
Paintings
Sketches
Digital Design
Li, Chengxi (Hilary)
Email: lchengxi@upenn.edu
chengxili24@gmail.com
Tel.: +1-2676706506, Addr.: 3601 Market St. Philadelphia, PA
