PORTFOLIO
Landscape Architecture
YUEMENG DAI
Rhode Island school of Design daiyuemeng@gmail.com
EARTH STUDIO
Type: Site Ecology Design
Team Work with Tianyue Wang
Duration: 2022.02 - 2022.05
Site Location: Phillipsdale Historic District, Providence RI, United State
The Phillipsdale Historic District is an industrial site rich in both human history and natural rock formations. This project serves as a pilot experiment, exploring the interconnected relationships between people and soil, and between soil and nature. On the left parcel, the Soil Gallery and Natural Restoration Museum offer educational programs that guide visitors through the processes of soil contamination, forest degradation due to industrialization, and future pathways for ecological restoration. Meanwhile, the open Earth Art Area on the right parcel invites visitors to apply their knowledge and utilize recycled materials found on-site to shape the soil, fostering interactive and participatory designs.
Design Principles
Build a Diverse and Dynamic Ecosystem
Through the Museum to Demonstrate the Hazards of Industrial Residues, Forest Degradation, and Soil Pollution. Creating Economic Value by Renting Out Event Space and Creating Job Opportunities.
My cabinet captures four generations of evolving memories tied to this land. Through interactive design, visitors can leave their own impressions, continuously shaping the site’s diverse identity.
Encourage Visitors to Reconsider the Relationship between Soil and Human by Soil Craftworks.
Use the Soil Health to Raise Public Awareness of Seriousness of Legacy of Industrial Pollution.
1.Soil Structure
Earth Art Area
Watch
Museum
5.Filtration Pond 6.Soil Gallery 7.Soil Classroom 1
Port 12.Kingfisher Habitat 13.Flower Field 14.Soil Gallery - Window1 15.Weathering Observation
Overlook
Overlook
Steps
8.Soil Classroom 2 9.Scenic Overlook 10.Bay Overlook
Classroom 1
Bricks formed by the compression of rocks and soil are stacked to form what is called a square, which is used as an outdoor classroom for lectures and teaching.
Phase 2
Phase 1
Vertically cut cross: Soil is covered with glass to show soil that has been thoroughly contaminated by industry.
The glass covers the slope formed by the soil, showing the plant roots growing in the slag underneath.
Phase 4
Demonstration of thoroughly decontaminated topsoil and deeply buried contaminated residue below ground, and demonstration of plant root growth.
Phase 3
Classroom 2
Gabions formed by large discarded bricks and cement to form a sunken square, used as an outdoor classroom for lectures and teaching.
This path is covered with glass walls on both sides of the soil to show the gradual disappearance of pollutants after purification by plants and water.
Riverfront activities overlook
Wetland Conservation and Water Filtration System
DISCOVERING THE LIGHTNESS OF BEING
Type: Environmental Psychology
Individual Work
Duration: 2023.09 - 2024.05
Site Location: Beijing Subway System, China
Subways, while efficient for daily commuting, can suppress passengers’ sense of agency by turning travel into a repetitive, unconscious routine. In Beijing, extensive underground lines lead to long commutes, rapid transfers, and a passive surrender to the environment, as people move like droplets through pipes. This experience prompts reflection on how such environments shape our perceptions, draining our sense of individuality and altering how we engage with urban life over time.
This project analyzes the spatial form of Beijing’s subway interiors and their cognitive impact on people, exploring how to break the constraints of time and space within confined areas to create entirely new sensory experiences.
The Depth And
Of The Subway System
This map shows the relationship between the subway and the city. In order to avoid underground pipes, building foundations and historic buildings, the subway is buried 80' deep. The two-level station and corridors are isolated from the world above ground.
Showing
Complexity
My strategy focuses on transforming confined urban spaces, like subways, into dynamic sensory environments. By integrating basic spatial forms with media devices—such as projections of color, light, shadow, temperature, and sound— I create immersive experiences that break traditional perceptions of time and space.
The use of diverse materials, from rough stone and smooth plastics to transparent glass and organic mycelium, enhances the tactile and visual diversity. Design interventions in corridors, escalators, and public areas introduce rhythm and rest points, inviting users to interact consciously with their surroundings, thereby reshaping their daily urban journeys.
REVIVE WEST END:
A Community Healing Park
Type: Community Park Design
Individual Work
Duration: 2023.10-2023.12
Site Location: West End, Providence RI, United State
The West End neighborhood is currently challenged by fragmented and neglected spaces that disrupt community cohesion. Through comprehensive analysis of the community layout and underutilized areas, a central site has been identified and reimagined as a vibrant multi-functional leisure space.
This project aims to enhance north-south connectivity while providing a spiritual healing park that includes social gathering spaces, community gardens, herb gardens, and family-friendly lawns. By transforming the core site, the design seeks to revitalize the neighborhood, fostering community engagement and offering a sanctuary for families and children to reconnect and escape the urban environment.
Horizontal
TRANSPORTATION PLAZA
-Social areas for students and jogger. Rest places waiting for buses.
-Coffee Shop
-Movable round table and chairs
-Non-movable benches and tree pools
-Charging facilities
-Water dispenser
-Restrooms
FAMILY LAWN
Social spaces and sports areas for families and children.
-Grassland -Swings
-Seesaw -Wooden bleachers
PLANTING GARDEN
A community garden and planting-themed social platform for neighborhood residents.
-Planting Pond
-Wooden deck with log seats
-murch floor
-Gardening facilities
HEALING WATERFALL
A space of rest away from the city created by using different colors and scents of plants and waterfalls.
-Waterfalls and ponds
-Tall enclosed trees
-Tables and chairs that can be moved
-Pavilion designed for yoga
-Healing plants
-Moss garden
MEDIDATION COURTYARD
A space for contemplation and reading for the neighborhood to relax the spirit.
-Exposed stones
-Rock seats
-Ornamental tree trunk species
-Wooden ground
Functions and Plants Areas
Planting Design
Stacked Stone Falls
The sound of water is used to mask the noise of the city, giving the illusion of being far away from the city.
Moss Garden
The sunken plaza can effectively increase the humidity and encourage users to experience the different tactile sensation of moss and stone.
Healing Plant Garden
Select herbs with special scents and unique colors to form a flower path. Reduce the planting of trees to provide open views for users.
Birch Tree Entrance
Birch trees are planted on both sides of the road to form walls, creating the feeling of a narrow road and contrasting with the openness that follows.
Birch Tree Entrance
Moss Garden
Healing Plant Garden Stone Falls
CAMPUS GREEN SPACE RENOVATION
Project type: Small-scale Research & Design
Campus Renovation
Individual Work
Duration: 2019.05 - 2019.07
Site Location: Nanjing, China
The Purple Stream, flowing down from the Purple Mountain in Nanjing, runs through the entire campus of Nanjing Forestry University. On both sides of the river bank are irregular slopes and green spaces. These green spaces are closely related to the life and travel of college students, but they are not well used. This research aims to explore the daily needs of students and teachers. The project uses topography and vegetation design to create rich activity spaces for users, and various plant landscape with seasonal characteristics.
VEGETATION DESIGN
Plant Collocation for Different Sections
Cedrus deodara (Roxburgh) G. Don
Mvetasequoia glyptostroboides
Armeniaca mume Sieb.
Aucuba japonica Thunb. var. variegata
Sabina chinensis (Linn.) Ant.
Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Sieb.
Populus tomentosa Carr.
Ligustrum lucidum Ait.
Amygdalus persica Linn. var. persica
Forsythia viridissima Lindl.
Pyracantha fortuneana (Maxim.) Li
Hypericum monogynum Linn.
Lagerstroemia indica Linn.
Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Lour.
Ilex cornuta Lindl. et Paxt.
Nandina domestica Thunb.
Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) Ait.
Sapium sebiferum (Linn.) Roxb.
Taxodium distichum (Linn.) Rich.
Ginkgo biloba Linn.
Waterfront Vegetation
Forsythia viridissima Lindl.
Sapium sebiferum (Linn.) Roxb.
Salix babylonica Linn.
Aucuba chinensis Benth.
Amygdalus persica Linn. var. persica f. duplex Rehd.
Osmanthus fragrans (Thunb.) Loureiro
Ilex cornuta Lindl. et Paxt.
Forsythia viridissima Lindl.
Autumn Leaf Dense Forest
Ginkgo biloba Linn.
Celtis sinensis Pers.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et W. C. Cheng
Taxodium distichum (Linn.) Rich.
Acvitity space Vegetation
Sabina chinensis (Linn.) Ant.
Lagerstroemia indica Linn.
Acer palmatum Thunb.
Pyracantha fortuneana (Maxim.) Li
Cedrus deodara (Roxburgh) G. Don
Pleurostylia opposita (Wall.) Alst.
Rest space Vegetation
Ligustrum lucidum Ait.
Armeniaca mume Sie
Populus tomentosa Carr.
Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) Ait.
Nandina domestica Thunb.
THREE KINDS OF WALKING EXPERIENCE
Abundant Sports, Changing Paths and Terrain and Group Activities
Abundant sports
Changing paths and terrain
Group activities
BENSLEY POINT
CONTOUR DESIGN
Type: Constructed Ground
Individual Work
Duration: 2021.10-2021.12
Site Location: Bensley Point, Providence RI, United State
Bensley Point is a promontory in Providence County, not far from a residential neighborhood, close to a cemetery, sports stadium and school. It has a large topography, thus providing a unique multi-perspective landscape. The purpose of the design is to enhance the topographic features of the site and make the access to the site more reasonable, so as to give people who come to hike and visit a richer view.
FOUR DESIGN NODES
Z-shaped Entrance, Deep Pits, Forest Platforms and Narrow Ridge
Z-shaped Entrance
EXPERIENCE OF FOUR PERSPECTIVES
Watercolor-Illustrated Journey Experience
Deep Pits
Forest Platform
FIFTH NODE - ELASTIC WATERFRONT
Rock Platform Observation Deck
Tidal Changes And Inundation Extent
The origin terrain platform, covered with dense brush, prevents people from approaching the shoreline. The design uses rock quarried on site to build the stepped platform. Each platform has a height difference of half a meter, so that the current water level can be visually seen. Part of the original shrubs are retained, so that people can feel the fun of traveling and exploring new things on the road, and finally come to the water side to overlook and rest. After high tide, when the water level covers most of the area, water-tolerant shrubs protect the soil from erosion and provide habitat for birds.
Model Display
CHILDHOOD & GUNS: AN EXHIBITION
Project type: Exhibition Design
Group Work
Designer: Yuemeng Dai
Curator : Aydinyan Yelena
Duration: 2023.02 - 2023.06
Site Location: Coltsville National Historical Park Hartford, CT
This exhibition probes the complex relationship between society and firearms, starting from childhood interactions with toy guns and games. It juxtaposes the innocent thrill of play with the harsh reality of gun violence through interactive displays, video games, and disorienting film trailers, all while interspersing alarming gun violence statistics.
Additionally, a separate memorial wall pays homage to young lives lost to gun violence, inviting reflection on its societal impact. The exhibition navigates ethical dilemmas and aims to heighten awareness by contrasting playful excitement with disturbing truths.
EXHIBITION SECTIONS
Tour Route, Exhibits and Color Scheme
Kyaka Port and ADA Path
Plaster Units
Card Board Experimental Model