<link>https://qianliu.me/</link></image><item><title>Bianzhong Grand Theatre</h1> <article> <h1>Bianzhong Grand Theatre</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="site-selection-and-urban-design">Site Selection and Urban Design</h2> <p>The Bianzhong Grand Theatre is located within the planned new district of Suizhou, China, specifically in the ‘Bianzhong Music Culture and Creative Industry Park’. It occupies the most prominent area within the park, the Yiyuan Peninsula. The planned total available land area is 99.07 hectares, with an effective land area of 67.32 hectares, and a planned total building area of approximately 20,000 sqm.</p> <p>The site benefits from convenient transport links. Baiyun Avenue runs through the south of the site, connecting the Huilangu Ecological Park to the east and the Municipal Administrative Centre to the west. The site has close transport ties to Suizhou’s old town via the Cross-Lake Bridge. The site is bordered by a lake on its north, east and west sides, offering shimmering lake views, and faces the Suizhou Stadium across the water. To the south, the site is framed by rolling hills with lush green foliage and expansive views over the lake. Overall, the site enjoys a picturesque setting, nestled between hills and water.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Site of Bianzhong Grand Theatre in the city of Suizhou</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The general urban design framework around the theatre can be summarised as ‘one axis, one core, one belt, and three zones’. The ‘one axis’ refers to the music and leisure axial park that runs through the centre of the site; the ‘one core’ refers to the central plaza and the Bianzhong Grand Theatre in the plaza; the ‘one belt’ refers to the lakeside landscape belt; and the ’three zones’ refer to the featured shopping area, the cultural and arts area, and the Bianzhong music experience area.</p> <p>The Yiyuan Peninsula, where the Grand Theatre is located, is a key element in Suizhou’s ‘riverside development plan’. This design optimises and enhances the existing planned urban transport system by strategically increasing road network density and evenly distributing various urban functions. It also better integrates with plans for the surrounding areas. The aim is to establish the peninsula as a well-organised and efficient core that generates a strong cultural landmark effect.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>The urban design framework of ‘one axis, one core, one belt, and three zones’</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The landscape design utilized the ground level changes on the lake bank to create rich, multi-level green spaces, achieving a smooth transition between hard and soft pavements. The central cultural plaza draws inspiration from ‘dancing sleeves’ and ‘flowing water’. The landscape pattern features flowing decorative lines, combined with lighting, to complement the ‘music rises, sleeves dance’ theme alongside the architecture. The lakeside landscape belt takes the form of a winding ecological green corridor, echoing the building.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Masterplan of Bianzhong Grand Theatre and the surrounding area</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="architectural-design">Architectural Design</h2> <p>The overall external form of this design is a continuous flowing line spiraling upwards, enveloping the core functions of the Grand Theatre. Public spaces and ancillary functions are arranged in a layout across different levels to maximise the use of the rear and side platforms. The building’s form varies in height according to the functional layout, minimising wasted space.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Concept of the external form in spiraling line</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The flowing and dynamic shape is clad in horizontal brushed aluminium panels, which, together with the interspersed glass, create a vibrant play of light and shadow. From a distance, the Grand Theatre resembles a woman in long flowing robes dancing by the water to the music of the Bianzhong chimes, showcasing a perfect blend of traditional musical culture and modern urban landscape. From an urban scale, the building’s outline follows the central axis of the peninsula and gradually rises, culminating in an upward sweep that elegantly terminates the axis, organically embedding this large building into the urban fabric.</p> <p>The Grand Theatre is situated on the banks of the Yu River, and this design aims to make it an open and welcoming public building, a three-dimensional waterfront leisure space. In conjunction with the varying heights of the flowing form, the design incorporates several open viewing platforms around the main building at different levels. The public can directly access these viewing platforms from the plaza via scenic bridges, without needing to enter the building, to enjoy views of the city’s riverfront.</p>  <style> /* 亮色模式：给图片加浅灰边框 */ .plan-border img { border: 1.5px solid #e5e7eb !important; } /* 暗色模式：自动让边框变透明 */ html.dark .plan-border img, .dark .plan-border img { border-color: transparent !important; } </style> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 plan-border"> <figure><figcaption> <p>South facade</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>West facade</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>North facade</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>East facade</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Construction on a raised base platform is a prominent feature of traditional architecture in Suizhou. This design elevates the building’s ground floor by 6 metres to create a three-dimensional base. This not only echoes local cultural traditions but also facilitates the comprehensive and effective management of traffic flow, earthwork excavation, and disaster prevention.</p> <p>The base platform creates visual corridors between the site’s interior and exterior, providing excellent viewing perspectives. From the city’s direction, the base platform enhances the main building, making the Grand Theatre appear more dignified and grand. It also efficiently achieves the following functional objectives: firstly, the base platform separates pedestrian and vehicle traffic; secondly, ample parking space is located beneath the base, avoiding the need for basement excavation, reducing earthwork and significantly saving on construction costs; and thirdly, it eliminates concerns about basement flooding during heavy rainfall or extreme weather events.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Render of Bianzhong Grand Theatre, aerial view from the southwest</p> </figcaption> </figure> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-12 items-start gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-6 -mb-2"> <div class="md:col-span-6">  <p>In terms of functional layout, this design establishes an overall framework that efficiently utilises space, based on the principles of clear zoning and circulation. The Grand Theatre is mainly divided into four functional zones: the theatre (which also serves as a concert hall), backstage facilities, administration and support facilities, and a car park.</p> <p>The main theatre auditorium is located on the first floor, employing a classic ‘vineyard’ seating arrangement. The stalls and two balconies together accommodate 1327 seats (including retractable seats in the orchestra pit). The balcony area incorporates boxes of varying sizes. The best viewing positions in the centre of the stalls are designated as two rows of VIP seating. The rear of the stalls provides convenient access and includes wheelchair-accessible seating. General audiences enter the stalls from the front foyer on the south side, while VIPs can enter from a separate lounge on the east side.</p> <p>Dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, and other backstage facilities are located on the northwest side of the building from the first to the third floor, adjacent to the stage area. This arrangement allows performers to access the stage area quickly and easily.</p>  </div> <div class="md:col-span-6"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Explosion analysis of circulation flows in Bianzhong Grand Theatre</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Central section of the main building</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The dance rehearsal hall is located on the first floor, parallel to the stage on the west. The two spaces are separated by movable walls and can be combined to form a single large space. The rehearsal hall is equipped with movable seating, allowing for various configurations such as a small theatre, conference hall, “T”-shaped stage, central stage, and flat hall, to meet different activity needs. Combined with the box office on the southwest side, this multi-functional dance rehearsal hall can operate independently when the main theatre is not in use, significantly improving the building’s overall utilisation and efficiency.</p> <p>The orchestra and choir rehearsal hall is located on the fourth floor on the west, directly above the stage, making full use of the height difference between the side stage and the main stage.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Four functional zones: the theatre (blue, with the foyer in cyan), backstage facilities (dance rehearsal hall in yellow, orchestra and choir rehearsal hall in green), administration and support facilities (purple), car park (grey); with the vertical movement facilities in red and orange</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="acoustic-design-and-simulation-verification">Acoustic Design and Simulation Verification</h2> <p>The Grand Theatre’s operator requires the venue to be suitable for a variety of performances. While the theatre will primarily host Bianzhong chime performances, it also needs to accommodate drama, symphonic music, and other events. To meet the acoustic requirements of these diverse performances, the acoustic design adopts a compromise approach, balancing musical richness and speech clarity, with a target reverberation time of approximately 1.5 seconds.</p> <p>To ensure that the reverberation time and its frequency characteristics within the theatre’s auditorium meet the design targets and achieve excellent sound quality, in addition to the careful design of the auditorium’s shape in plan and section, the plan also provides detailed recommendations for the selection of materials, construction methods, and the sound absorption performance of the seating for all surfaces within the auditorium.</p> <p>To verify the building’s acoustic performance, professional software was used to simulate the acoustic effects in the Grand Theatre’s auditorium. The simulation results show that, in a dramatic performance scenario with the auditorium at full capacity at 500Hz, the reverberation time T30 = 1.47 seconds; and at 1000Hz, the reverberation time T30 = 1.41 seconds. Both simulations meet the design requirement of an optimal reverberation time of 1.5 ± 0.1 seconds, with an indoor sound pressure level difference of ≤ ±4dB, satisfying the requirements of the Code for Design of Theatres for Stage Performance (JGJ/57-2000). With the addition of an acoustic reflector at the rear of the stage, in a concert hall setting, the simulation results show that, with the auditorium at full capacity at 500Hz, the reverberation time T30 = 1.79 seconds; and at 1000Hz, the reverberation time T30 = 1.69 seconds. These results meet the requirements for the mid-frequency optimal reverberation time of 1.8 ± 0.1 seconds for concert halls as specified in the Principles of Architectural Acoustic Design.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Acoustic simulation results</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="my-role">My role</h2> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong> co-designed the masterplan and waterfront public spaces, contributed to the conceptualisation and architectural design of the theatre.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Planning and design of micro-scale public spaces in Hanyang Disrict</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>Hanyang District is situated in the southwest of Wuhan, covering an area of approximately 108 square kilometres with a population of 479,000. The district’s urban layout is characterised by a blend of city and waterways, and its existing public spaces include: large public spaces around six major lakes and numerous smaller lakes; waterfront public areas along the Yangtze and Han Rivers; and various urban parks and squares. Hanyang District boasts a rich history and culture, with 17 officially recognised cultural heritage sites at the municipal level or above, as well as abundant natural scenery, including Yue Lake, Moshui Lake, and Gui Mountain.</p> <p>In 2016, the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning (Wuhan MBNRP) commissioned the planning and design of micro-scale public space for Hanyang District. The aim was to closely align with current planning, enhance Hanyang District’s public space network, create a diverse range of urban public environments, improve the city’s overall quality, and develop a truly “liveable Hanyang”.</p> <p>In this project, ‘micro-scale public space’ is defined as: public spaces that are small in scale, large in number, evenly distributed, and located close to residents’ living or transit areas, serving basic daily life needs. There are no absolutely strict size limits, but are defined relative to large public spaces in the city that are not always easily accessible for all residents. Their size is typically between approximately 300-5000m².</p> <h2 id="survey">Survey</h2> <p>The design team, using Hanyang District’s planning control units as a framework, conducted a comprehensive survey of the district’s status quo. The survey identified 190 potential sites that could be renovated or upgraded into high-quality micro-scale public spaces. These comprised: 107 community-based micro-scale public spaces, 33 commercial micro-scale public spaces, 33 transport-related micro-scale public spaces, 10 public tourism micro-scale public spaces, and 7 public service micro-scale public spaces. As well as noting the location of each existing micro-scale public space, the survey provided detailed records of its surrounding functions, environmental facilities, quality of greenery, usage intensity, and types of use.</p> <p>The project adopted a participatory design approach to fully respect the needs and wishes of local residents and involve them in the design process. During the survey, the team conducted questionnaires and in-depth interviews to understand local citizens’ needs and their evaluations of the existing micro-scale public spaces. The information gathered from the interviews revealed that Hanyang residents have a strong desire for more micro-scale public spaces, primarily using them for relaxation, walking, and sports and fitness, mainly in the evenings. Currently, residents expressed the most dissatisfaction with the quantity and quality of seating, shelter, and lighting in these spaces. The facilities most desired by citizens are children’s play areas, spaces for leisure and strolling, and sports facilities.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Part of the visualised questionnaire results</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="categorised-planning">Categorised Planning</h2> <p>When planning the layout of all micro-scale public spaces within Hanyang District, the project used a categorised approach, according to the context of each space.</p> <p>Community-based micro-scale public spaces focused on older, open-plan residential areas and were planned based on the survey of existing micro-scale public space resources. For areas such as Sixin Community, which have a large number of planned but undeveloped residential communities, corresponding guidelines for the construction of micro-scale public spaces were also proposed. In total, 134 community-based micro-scale public spaces were planned.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Planned sites of community-based micro-scale public spaces, and their 300-meter buffer zone</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Commercial micro-scale public spaces focused on Wangjiawan, Zhongjiacun, and the commercial hubs of Hanyang Avenue and Longyang Avenue. For the Sixin commercial district, which is currently under construction, the plan mainly developed supporting construction requirements. In total, 47 commercial micro-scale public spaces were planned.</p> <p>Transport-related micro-scale public spaces were primarily laid out in conjunction with the existing Wuhan Metro Lines 3 and 4 and the soon-to-be-opened Line 6 stations in Hanyang District, while also considering some key bus stops. A total of 43 transport-related micro-scale public spaces were planned.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Metro lines in Hanyang District as baselines for transport-related micro-scale public spaces</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Planned sites of transport-related micro-scale public spaces</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Public service micro-scale public spaces were mainly planned and laid out based on the current survey and the distribution of public service facilities in Hanyang District. In total, 11 public service micro-scale public spaces were planned.</p> <p>Public tourism micro-scale public spaces focused on Wuhan’s major tourist attractions and scenic spots, including Wuhan Zoo, Gui Mountain, and Yue Lake, etc. The planning also incorporated Hanyang District’s rich historical and cultural heritage, such as Guiyuan Temple and Qingchuan Pavilion. Throughout the planning process, special care was taken to avoid any duplication or conflict with existing scenic area plans. In total, 16 public tourism micro-scale public spaces were planned.</p> <p>Overall, 251 micro-scale public spaces were planned within Hanyang District’s built-up area. The planned total area of these micro-scale public spaces is 67.08 hectares, forming a multi-tiered urban public space system, comprising urban parks, community parks, and micro-scale public spaces, alongside Hanyang District’s existing public spaces.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Planned multi-tiered urban public space system in Hanyang District, compromising urban parks, community parks, and micro-scale public space</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="detailed-design-of-representative-sites">Detailed Design of Representative Sites</h2> <p>In accordance with the requirements of the Wuhan MBNRP, the project team, based on the aforementioned planning layout, selected several representative micro-scale public spaces from the overall plan for detailed design. The aim was to provide examples to guide the specific implementation of the plan in the future. To ensure adequate representation, the selection of sites considered Hanyang District’s specific context, covered all five categories, and prioritised micro-scale public space locations with more prominent issues. The project ultimately selected 5 sites for detailed design.</p> <p>For example, Erqiao Community Park, a typical community-based micro-scale public space, is surrounded by several older, open-plan residential communities. The park’s main users are residents from the neighbouring communities, primarily middle-aged and elderly people and children. The design respects the park’s existing layout and, considering its current usage, uses the addition of essential supporting facilities to renovate and improve the space. The goal is to achieve maximum improvement with minimal expenditure and better cater to the needs of different age groups, usage at different times, and various types of activities.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Designed plan of Erqiao Community Park</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Designed Erqiao Community Park, with the added shelter, residents can enjoy more comfort</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Wangjiawan Street Square is a typical commercial micro-scale public space. The main shortcomings of this space are the limited outdoor leisure space and poorly managed level changes, making it difficult for pedestrians. The design strategy for this space is to create more leisure space, redesign the overall ground surface with gentle slopes to improve pedestrian comfort, and extend the pedestrian street towards the side road to increase the commercial frontage.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Designed plan of Erqiao Community Park</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Designed Erqiao Community Park, with the added shelter, residents can enjoy more comfort</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="compilation-of-detailed-guidelines-and-phased-construction-plan">Compilation of Detailed Guidelines and Phased Construction Plan</h2> <p>Finally, the project team, considering the specific circumstances of Hanyang District, developed detailed design guidelines for micro-scale public spaces in the district, including implementation recommendations for each micro-scale public space. Out of the 251 micro-scale public spaces, it is recommended that 64 be retained and improved, 126 be renovated and upgraded, and 61 be newly built.</p> <p>To ensure the plan’s sustainable implementation, a phased construction plan was also created. A selection of representative and urgently needed micro-scale public spaces were designated as key construction projects for the near future. The selection process primarily focused on three types of areas: first, streets in Hanyang District with less than 0.5m² of public space per person, mainly Cuiwei Community and Jianghan Erqiao Community; second, micro-scale public spaces with high current usage but inadequate spatial facilities; and third, key development areas in Hanyang District, such as the Guiyuan Temple area. In total, 31 micro-scale public spaces were included in the near-term key construction plan.</p> <p>To increase the plan’s binding effect, with the suggestion and approval of the Wuhan MBNRP, the team incorporated the planning results into the GIS-based ‘Wuhan Planning Map’ system, making it a legally enforceable plan. The team also recommended that the Wuhan MBNRP establish construction requirements for micro-scale public spaces in Hanyang District. Examples include requiring construction projects with a site area greater than 5000m² to provide micro-scale public spaces equivalent to 1%-3% of the building area, depending on the project type. Additionally, for high-density development sites, developers could be granted additional building area for each 1m² of micro-scale public space provided.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>First page of the detailed guidelines for the planned micro-scale public spaces in Jianghan Erqiao Community</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="my-role">My role</h2> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong> conducted thorough participatory investigation on the Hanyang District for available spaces, prepared plan drawings for several communities and neighbourhoods, designed one of the representative sites, and registered the project outcomes into the governmental system based on GIS.</p> <p>He was also responsible for stage presentations and final presentations to the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning.</p> </article> <article> <h1>NET OF CARE: Care continuum in Chinese major cities in 2040</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h4 id="submitted-to-2017-uia-phg-international-student--young-architect-competition"><strong>Submitted to ‘2017 UIA-PHG International Student & Young Architect Competition’</strong></h4> <h4 id="won-the-award-of-honorable-mention-with-the-ranking-of-7th"><strong>Won the award of ’Honorable Mention’ with the ranking of 7th</strong> </br></br></h4> <h3 id="background">Background</h3> <p>The <em>2017 UIA-PHG International Student & Young Architect Competition</em>, organized by the Public Health Group (PHG) of the International Union of Architects / Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA), was themed ‘SMART, GREEN & BEYOND: HEALTHCARE FACILITY OF THE FUTURE’. It called for ‘innovative proposals that may deal with significant future challenges: e.g., how to make use of limited resources? How to incorporate new technologies? How to meet the healthcare needs of the fast-growing aging population? How to reduce costs? In the next 15 or 30 years, how would healthcare facilities look like? How does the future design reflect the everlasting meaning of culture and tradition?’ (See , and )</p> <p>China has the largest population in the whole world, which poses a great challenge in providing adequate healthcare for its residents. In response, we propose herein a care continuum that is supposed to be established by 2040, which we named ‘NET OF CARE’, consisting of modular healthcare units, an emergency transport network and hierarchical hospitals. Modular healthcare units can be constructed into different combinations embedded into ordinary buildings to satisfy various needs, turning the city, as a whole, into a healthcare facility.</p> <figure> </figure> <h3 id="net-of-care">Net of Care</h3> <p>New technologies and inventions in medical science imply an opportunity to change the current service process in Chinese hospitals almost completely. Firstly, since automated pharmacies and automated medicine dispensing pipelines have already been introduced within hospitals, there is possibility to make it an city-wide infrastructure network just like electricity transmission lines and to connect each community or even each house with this network, so that citizens can get medicines on a machine near their house without having to queue in hospitals. This network can be built using existing tunnels and pipes like the subways and drain pipes, which may dramatically reduce the cost.</p> <p>Secondly, AI diagnosis and automatic physical examination can make it possible to separate parts of the whole service process from the hospitals and distribute them into automatic equipment that is installed throughout the whole city. This will not completely replace real physicians and surgeons, but can function as a ‘filter’ to decide which patients need to get further check or receive surgical treatment in brick and mortar hospitals and which of them can be cured with simple prescription and basic treatment that can be done on such automatic equipment. In many parts of the world, this role of ‘filter’ is played by family doctors, a career that does not exist at all in China.</p> <p>Equipment in these two systems can be built or installed together to provide comprehensive services and be connected to each other in a hierarchical manner we propose that is similar to the computer network. This hierarchical manner can be integrated into the existing healthcare system, with tertiary hospitals as ‘servers’, primary hospitals and secondary hospitals as secondary servers, newly-built healthcare stations as ‘routers’ and non-medical buildings as ‘terminals’.</p> <p>In such system, by installing comprehensive equipment onto ordinary, non-medical buildings like houses, offices, schools, malls, etc., the whole city is turned into a ‘Healthcare Facility’, a ‘Care Continuum’ that we called the ‘Net of Care’. And this is what we proposed in our project in response to the theme of this competition, ‘Smart, Green & Beyond: Healthcare Facility of The Future’. We believe that this care continuum could be built or partly built by 2040 in Chinese major cities.</p> <p><figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> </p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong>, as the team leader, conceptualized the design, made analysis and prepared drawings.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Refurbishment of ‘Ruffini’ Primary School</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>Located on Via Fratelli Ruffini near central Milan, this primary school is named ‘Ruffini’ in honour of the Ruffini brothers, three renowned Italian patriots. The neighbourhood ranks among Milan’s most cultural areas, with the chapel housing Leonardo da Vinci’s <em>The Last Supper</em> adjacent to the school and the UNESCO world heritage site <em>Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie</em> to the east.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Location of ‘Ruffini’ Primary School in Milan</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>The building of ‘Ruffini’ Primary School</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Surroundings of ‘Ruffini’ school: Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie (the brick church on the right), the chapel housing The Last Supper (the two-storey yellow building to the left of the church), and ‘Ruffini’ school (the three-storey yellow structure to the left of the chapel)</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Originally constructed in the 1800s as a three-storey U-shaped courtyard building, later rear additions completed its enclosed layout. Today, over two-thirds of the building serves the primary school, while the rest accommodates a kindergarten. Though structurally sound, the primary school’s facilities have not been updated for many years, hindering modern teaching approaches.</p> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing rules challenged the school but also created an opportunity to rethink its learning environment. Shortly after Milan’s first lockdown ended, the school administration launched a refurbishment project.</p> <h2 id="refurbishment-project">Refurbishment project</h2> <p>The refurbishment focused on shared spaces on the first storey, primarily the lobby, corridors, and two classrooms. The key task was upgrading facilities in these areas, including lighting, wall paint, furniture, and wooden features like door panels.</p> <p>Beyond basic improvements, the design incorporated ideas from Prof. Laura Pezzetti’s research project ‘School Buildings towards a New Extraordinary’ (see ), aiming to transform plain corridors – previously just walkways – into ‘open classrooms’ for cooperative learning. Two classrooms near the lobby were redesigned to create a flexible, borderless shared learning zone.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Floor plan of lightings and wall paint</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Floor plan of furniture arrangement</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbishment design of the lobby, in comparison with the status quo</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbishment design of the corridor, in comparison with the status quo</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The refurbished corridors and classrooms also became ideal spaces to display the school’s science collections. New cabinets and shelves house dozens of taxidermy animal specimens, anatomy models, and vintage maths and physics teaching tools. Custom-designed stools double as seating and display units, allowing pupils examine specimens up close in a relaxed setting.</p> <p>Bright yellow and blue wall colours were chosen to boost pupils’ mood and wellbeing, based on colour psychology. New furniture matches this palette, featuring shades like yellow, orange, light green, and light blue. Wooden elements (cabinets, shelves) retain their natural finish, while doors and window frames are repainted to harmonise with the scheme.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbished lobby, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbished corridor, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Lighting was upgraded to brighten the lobby-turned-classroom. Safety and eco-friendly materials were prioritised, with all wood certified as environmentally friendly.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbished lobby, the stools with exhibiting functions can be observed, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Refurbished lobby, pupils appreciating the birds and playing with the geometry teaching tools, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>One of the classrooms opened and connected to the shared leaning zone, with new desks and stools, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Another classroom opened and connected to the shared learning zone, photo by Erich Invernizzi</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="status">Status</h2> <p>Construction began in January 2021 and finished by early March.</p> <p>The project was covered by <em>Abitare</em>, the renowned international magazine on architecture and design. View the article at the link below:</p> <a href="https://www.abitare.it/it/universita/in-campus/2023/02/14/innovazione-didattica-aggiornamento-di-una-scuola-milanese/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="not-prose flex flex-col sm:flex-row w-full max-w-4xl border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 rounded-xl overflow-hidden hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-gray-800/60 transition-all duration-300 my-8 group shadow-sm hover:shadow text-current no-underline"> <div class="flex flex-col flex-1 p-4 sm:p-5 md:p-6"> <div class="text-sm md:text-base font-bold text-gray-900 dark:text-gray-100 line-clamp-1 mb-1.5 group-hover:text-primary-600 dark:group-hover:text-primary-400 transition-colors"> Innovazione didattica, aggiornamento di una scuola milanese | Abitare </div> <div class="text-xs md:text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 line-clamp-2 leading-relaxed mb-4"> Università, scuole e musei possono dare vita a collaborazioni fruttuose, con un forte impatto sulla realtà. Lo dimostra questo progetto del Politecnico di Milano. </div> <div class="mt-auto flex items-center text-xs text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-400 font-medium"> <span>www.abitare.it</span> </div> </div> <div class="hidden sm:block sm:w-1/3 md:w-2/5 border-l border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 overflow-hidden relative"> </div> </a> <h2 id="my-role">My role</h2> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong> designed the lobby and corridor, including the furniture, lighting, and wall paints; and contributed to designing other connected spaces, and supervising on-site construction work.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Redevelopment of Vimercate All-inclusive School Centre</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>The Vimercate Comprehensive School Campus (Omnicomprensivo Centro Scolastico di Vimercate), occupying a triangular site to the east of the city, comprises eight buildings shared among four schools, serving pupils from multiple neighbouring towns in the region.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>The school centre, on the outskirt of Vimercate (seen on the left of this image)</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Buildings and greenery in the school centre</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Constructed in the mid-1970s, most buildings in the school centre feature simple single-storey designs using prefabricated concrete slabs – a cost-effective and rapid method, albeit one that compromised long-term durability. Despite ongoing maintenance, decades of continuous use have led to significant degradation, including water leaks, peeling plasterwork, and structural wear. Rising student numbers have strained the campus beyond its original capacity.</p> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted these shortcomings. Italian government mandates for social distancing during in-person teaching under the pandemic, requiring ample classrooms, communal spaces, and modern technical infrastructure, which are all starkly contrasted with the overcrowded campus’s limitations.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Corridor in Building D, status quo, photo in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Classroom in Building F, status quo, photo in 2021; the walls made of prefabricated slabs can be observed</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>One of the entrances to Building D, status quo, photo in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="the-redevelopment-project">The redevelopment project</h2> <p>Following the pandemic, the local government has urgently called for redeveloping the school facilities. The project aims to enhance structural quality and upgrade equipment while creating more usable spaces for the schools, both indoors and outdoors.</p> <p>The concept of the design builds on findings from the research project ‘School Buildings towards a New Extraordinary’ by Politecnico di Milano’s Osservatorio Scuole (see this page). This research sees COVID-19 and social distancing rules as a chance to accelerate the transformation of Italian school buildings, focusing on resilience, modern teaching methods, and student wellbeing.</p> <p>Therefore, the design prioritises not just upgrading traditional classrooms but also improving outdoor public spaces between buildings to support student wellbeing. Indoor shared spaces like halls and corridors are redesigned as ‘open classrooms’ or ‘shared learning spaces’ to better suit the fluid environment of technology-driven cooperative learning.</p> <p>Generally speaking, the design treated the school centre as an analogue of a city, composed by the solid buildings and the void public spaces in between.</p> <p>As of late 2024, the project is finalising its designs, with construction due to begin shortly.</p> <div class="w-full flex justify-center mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 [&_figure]:text-center"> <figure><figcaption> <p>General plan of the redevelopment: an analogue of a city</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Public space between buildings, where students interact and enjoy</p> </figcaption> </figure> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>‘Open classrooms’ in Building F</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>‘Open classrooms’ in Building F</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="design-of-building-d">Design of Building D</h2> <p>Building D, the largest structure in the school centre, occupies the northern corner of the triangular campus. It houses the ‘ISS Einstein’ school and consists of a single-storey layout built primarily with prefabricated concrete slabs. Its north and south wings are linked by a central axial ‘bridge’, with each wing enclosing three small patios to improve natural lighting and ventilation.</p> <p>This building requires urgent attention due to multiple issues. First, overcrowding, which has forced some ISS Einstein classes to relocate. Second, many prefabricated concrete slabs are in poor condition, with some structurally unsound. Third, inadequate lighting affects certain classrooms. Fourth, narrow corridors leave no space for cooperative or other modern teaching methods.</p> <p>The design addresses these challenges. The major change is an additional floor added to the central-eastern section provides new classrooms and an open balcony facing east, offering views of fields and distant snow-capped mountains.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Building D, ground floor, redevelopment plan</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Building D, 1st floor, redevelopment plan</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>The original central ‘bridge’ is converted into a two-storey central hall for shared learning, and for events like lectures, meetings, proms, and performances. Classrooms near the north and south entrances are merged into shared learning spaces, with sliding partitions replacing walls to allow flexible layouts.</p> <p>New classrooms added to the west, combined with upgrades elsewhere, ensure sufficient capacity for foreseeable student numbers, based on data from the school administration.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Building D, the redeveloped central hall</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Building D, the connected classrooms next to the entrance as shared learning space</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="my-role">My role</h2> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong> designed the redevelopment of Building D, and contributed to the on-site survey and master plan of the whole campus.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Regeneration of the historical centre of Meda</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h2 id="project-background-the-historical-centre-of-meda">Project background: the historical centre of Meda</h2> <p>Meda is a small historic city in the Province of Monza and Brianza, Lombardy, Italy, renowned for its furniture design and production industry and as the birthplace of modern architect Giuseppe Terragni. The city’s history traces its origins to c. 851 AD, when the Benedictine monastery of San Vittore was situated atop the hill in the city centre, around which a settlement developed and eventually grew into a city.</p> <p>As the city expanded, residents favoured newer housing on the outskirts and gradually abandoned the historic centre, which now lies devoid of activity and in a state of degradation and neglect. The municipal authority has decided to redevelop the urban spaces in the historic centre and revitalise this core of the city’s identity.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Historical centre of Meda, status quo, drone aerial photo, 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="the-three-sub-projects">The three sub-projects</h2> <p>The project comprises three sub-projects, aligned with the sites selected by the municipal authority as the most significant and viable for regenerating the historic centre.</p> <p><strong>The first sub-project</strong> focuses on Corso Matteotti, a key axis in the city’s urban layout. The western section of this corso is currently used primarily as a busy traffic corridor with little public activity, and at least half of its retail units stand vacant. However, the buildings along the corso – particularly those to the north – exhibit distinct architectural features characteristic of northern Lombardy and are critical to preserving the city’s cultural identity. The project’s aim is to transform the corso into a vibrant public space.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Corso Matteotti, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Corso Matteotti, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p><strong>The second sub-project</strong> centres on Palazzo Mascheroni, situated near the eastern end of Corso Matteotti. Originally constructed around 1910 as the headquarters of the Mascheroni family’s furniture production business, the courtyard palazzo’s production wings were demolished in the early 2000s. The rectangular block housing the administration wing was preserved but has remained abandoned and derelict ever since. The municipal authority aims to convert this palazzo into a youth community centre.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Palazzo Mascheroni, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Palazzo Mascheroni, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p><strong>The third sub-project</strong>, dubbed the ‘Lacuna’ project, comprises two abandoned courtyards at the western end of Corso Matteotti. Its aim is to adapt these spaces into a civic centre.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>‘Lacuna’, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>‘Lacuna’, status quo, photos in 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>These three sub-projects are integrated into a cohesive public space system, with Corso Matteotti serving as the central spine and Palazzo Mascheroni and ‘Lacuna’ positioned at either end. This network is anticipated to trigger community engagement in the city’s long-neglected historic centre.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>The project’s public space system, the project sites are marked red</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="corso-matteotti-sub-project">Corso Matteotti sub-project</h2> <p>The team conducted a comprehensive survey of the streetscape along Corso Matteotti and its adjacent buildings, employing traditional methods alongside drone aerial photography and point cloud mapping. To more effectively identify structural decay and damage to the buildings and inform preservation efforts, a heritage-focused survey was also undertaken.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Example of the point cloud survey</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Example of the point cloud survey</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Based on these findings, the team developed detailed design proposals and revitalisation strategies for the street’s public realms. Key nodes along the thoroughfare were designated as priority design sites – termed ‘social hubs’ – intended for residents to gather, rest, and interact.</p> <p>The design seeks to transform this historic high street into a network of dynamic, universally accessible public spaces. Two objectives were prioritised: firstly, to create functional public areas with amenities that encourage community engagement; and secondly, to reintegrate historical elements that preserve and showcase the city’s cultural identity.</p> <p>For instance, the triangular plaza at the intersection of Corso Matteotti and Via Orsini was identified as a central public zone. This site historically served as a natural gathering spot due to a communal well, which the design reinterprets through a fountain installation to revitalise the corner. Similarly, the area fronting the bank near the municipal square was selected as a key social hub, designed to channel activity from the square into Corso Matteotti.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design of the Spazio pubblico al ‘Pozzo’ (Public space of the ‘well’), rendering</p> </figcaption> </figure>  <style> /* 亮色模式：给图片加浅灰边框 */ .plan-border img { border: 1.5px solid #e5e7eb !important; } /* 暗色模式：自动让边框变透明 */ html.dark .plan-border img, .dark .plan-border img { border-color: transparent !important; } </style> <div class="plan-border"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design of the Spazio pubblico al ‘Pozzo’ (Public space of the ‘well’), plan</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="palazzo-mascheroni-sub-project">Palazzo Mascheroni sub-project</h2> <p>Having been abandoned and neglected for nearly two decades, Palazzo Mascheroni was in poor condition when the design team commenced work. Its walls and floors were severely degraded, with several structures rendered structurally unsound.</p> <p>The design prioritised identifying and preserving salvageable structural elements. Subsequently, newer paintwork on the façade was stripped to expose the original brick surfaces, aligning more closely with local architectural traditions. Interventions were kept minimal to retain the building’s original layout while adapting it for its proposed role as a youth centre.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design for the north facade of Palazzo Mascheroni</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design for the top floor as a multi-function hall</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design for the entrance hall</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="lacuna-sub-project">‘Lacuna’ sub-project</h2> <p>The two courtyards for the ‘Lacuna’ project were in extremely bad conditions, featuring collapsed roofs and open spaces filled with overgrown vegetation. A further challenge was the absence of detailed historical records for these structures.</p> <p>Using limited archival materials and point cloud data, the team digitally reconstructed the buildings, accounting for areas of collapse and decay to assess their state accurately. This informed a design that integrated the courtyards into a cohesive public space system. By adding new volumes atop ruined sections, diverse civic facilities were incorporated while carefully retaining the courtyards’ historical fabric.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Connecting the large courtyard (left) and the small one (right)</p> </figcaption> </figure> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 [&_img]:aspect-[3/2] [&_img]:object-cover"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design of the large courtyard</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Design of the interior as exhibition space</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <h2 id="my-role">My role</h2> <p><strong>Qian Liu</strong> digitally reconstructed and designed the ‘Lacuna’ sub-project, and contributed to the on-site survey and design of the Corso Matteotti and Palazzo Mascheroni sub-projects.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Doctoral thesis research: Sustainable production of public spaces in small historic cities in China</h1> <p>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Public space; Small historic city; Sustainable; Production of public space; Tourism</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>Public space has been an essential part of Chinese cities in various types and forms throughout history. However, the turbulent 20th century has broken the long tradition of public space in urban China, bringing in new types, transforming existing types, and eliminating some old types. In contemporary Chinese cities, public spaces are facing problems, especially in small historic cities with valuable historic urban landscapes and typo-morphological characteristics but lacking sufficient funding and adequate professional design. They are more likely subject to damage by problematic public spaces.</p> <p>Now the production of public spaces in small historic cities is dominated by capital and policy powers. Capital power, especially the tourism capital, is over-exploiting such cities for more profit, and tends to reduce the unique historical characteristic to simple stylistic elements, without paying due attention to the real authentic historical urban morphology and identity. Policy power, on the other hand, is aggravating the situation by cooperating with capital power to produce large, “modernized”, and symbolic public spaces as city marketing tools, which are not always suited to the urban context and the residents’ real demand on public life. Such an unsustainable way of producing public spaces is sabotaging the unique historic urban landscape of these small historic cities while costing a huge amount of funding.</p> <p>This thesis intends to contribute to the effort of addressing these problems in the public spaces in small historic cities. The objective is to propose a possibility of reaching a balance among cultural heritage preservation, public life, and economic growth. The research started with an overview of the public spaces in the history of urban China, in order to figure out what inspirations they may offer to contemporary interventions, and lay a basic research framework for the following work. Then in the second phase, the research introduced the main case study, the city of Zhengding, and analyzed its typo-morphological characteristics both of the whole city and of the public spaces within the city. Next, the contemporary problems in public spaces in small historic cities were closely examined to find their causes and impacts so as to better tackle them. In the last part of the research, several principles and strategies were proposed as attempts to reach the balance mentioned above, by learning from the history and taking the city of Zhengding as the main case study.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu carried out this research project independently under the supervision of Prof. Laura Pezzetti.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Research on the morphological evolution of Zhengding</h1> <p>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Urban morphology; Historical evolution; Small historic city; City walls; Zhengding</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>Zhengding (正定) is a small historic city in Hebei Province in North China. This research provides a historical overview of the evolution of Zhengding and its public spaces, examined from morphological and typological perspectives. The research covers the period from the 7th century, when the city was first established on its current site, to the end of the 20th century.</p> <p>This research addresses the challenge of limited documentation. Historical urban archives in China typically do not include many graphical records, unlike the cadastre in Europe. Therefore, this research extracts traces of morphological features from written accounts of the city’s history.</p> <p>There are two critical factors that help mapping the texts into real geographical space. First, that the city’s structure, compromising the city walls, urban axes, and major street network, remained roughly unchanged throughout the historic evolution, which is evidenced in many other well-preserved Chinese ancient cities. Second, the preserved built heritages in the city, including the major temples, pagodas, monuments, and gate towers, remained where they were over centuries, like anchors fixed on the city’s structure. These two factors link the current urban form to the one in history.</p> <p>Furthermore, existing archaeological studies have provided physical evidence to infer the city’s urban form throughout history. Excavated ruins of old city walls, streets, and buildings offer clues about the city’s extent and its architectural types. Moreover, military survey records from the early 20th century and subsequent satellite images provide valuable information on the city’s more recent evolution.</p> <p>Based on the materials and methods mentioned above, this research initially determined that the city originated as a military fortress, strategically located for defence purposes and according to Fengshui principles in the 7th century. Subsequently, the study identified two expansions of the city, in the 8th and 15th centuries, undertaken to enhance its defensive capabilities. Additionally, the city’s decline in military and economic importance in the early 20th century and the subsequent shrinkage of its built-up areas were closely mapped. Finally, the research documented the rapid urban sprawl that has occurred since China’s economic reform in 1978.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu carried out this research project independently under the supervision of Prof. Laura Pezzetti.</p> </article> <article> <h1>School buildings towards a new extraordinary</h1> <p>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>School building; COVID-19; Cooperative learning; Resilience; Wellbeing</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>The lockdown caused by the COVID-19 emergency and the shortcomings of online teaching have emphasised why the school is a physical realm of learning spaces influencing cognitive, emotional and affective relationships that cannot be surrogated by distance learning technologies. Besides, the subsequent need of physical distancing has highlighted the lack of resilience of Italian school buildings. Given that Health is not only safety but also wellbeing, the quality of spaces is crucial for learning, wellbeing and inspiring behaviours. Yet, the pre-pandemic ‘ordinary’ of school buildings and debate in Italy was marked by endemic inadequacies and clichés respectively, which are discussed by the research in relation to their poor resilience to physical distancing and on the base of the fieldwork conducted for Milan Municipality. Considering the new requirements of health measures as a potential accelerating factor, this research delineate new principles of spatial setting and adaptive strategies for school buildings’ resilience to meet the new requirements while overcoming the endemic need of innovation and requalification of Italian schools, moving towards a ‘new extraordinary’.</p> <p>The research proposes that in the ‘new extraodinary’ school buildings, people flows should be separated through architectural means, by reinventing communal spaces. In association with informal learning spaces and workspaces, classrooms can form a continuous fabric that has the complexity of a small city and landscape, being characterised by different depths of field and heights; degrees of partition and sharing; rooms, habitable recesses, squares or multifunctional theatres; shaded patios, ramps, paths and gardens. Learners could then experience architectural space in its full richness of space-places, meanings and symbols, metaphors and metonymies attributed to forms; in the play of different scales, heights and layouts, which predispose and stimulate different kinds of behaviour; and in the expression of tactile and aesthetic-perceptive values.</p> <p>From the urban perspective, this research advocates that the schools of today should constitute again the beating heart of districts while providing a number of community functions and becoming hubs for lifelong learning connected with urban resources fifteen minutes walking. The school as a community centre, nonetheless, is a subject already emphasized by the Italian experience related to typological criticism, namely in the projects by Aymonino at Pesaro and Canella in the Milanese hinterland.</p> <p>Shared outdoor spaces are also emphasised in this research. The pandemic has brought out the importance of outdoor spaces, which have been forgotten by contemporary pedagogy. Open-air education, instead, has a rich architectural tradition in the ‘open-air schools’ of the 1920s-30s and even before in Milan’s Rinnovata Pizzigoni (1911). They feature several issues that the pandemic calls for reconsideration: outdoor classrooms, equipped open air spaces, foldable and openable facades, and an active use of flat roofs. The author’s design for multifunctional open-air classrooms (2014) could be seen as an early prototype to extend safe and versatile teaching spaces into the districts’ parks.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu studied the classroom layout under social distancing rules, conducted investigation and statistics of school buildings in Milan, contributed to the final drawings and presentation.</p> <p>Qian Liu also significantly contributed to the research-led design projects that encompassed the insights from this research project.</p> <h3 id="related-output">Related output</h3> <ul> <li>Research-led design projects: <ul> <li>Redevelopment of Vimercate All-inclusive School Centre ( )</li> <li>Refurbishment of ‘Ruffini’ Primary School ( )</li> </ul> </li> </ul> </article> <article> <h1>Master’s thesis research: Walking experience evaluation of urban three-dimensional commercial street</h1> <p>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Three-Dimensional Commercial Street; Walking experience; Analytic hierarchy process; Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>With the rapid process of urbanization and economic development, there is a common belief that urban space should be used more intensively, and that the three-dimensional development of urban space is a main approach to achieve this. Thus, Chinese cities are widely building three-dimensional urban systems, and the commercial three-dimensional system is one of the main types. However, new business models like e-commerce are leading to a decrease in the use rate of these systems. To slow down this decrease, improving the walking experience of these systems would be an effective approach, and accurately evaluating walking experience in these systems to figure out the defects is essential to take this approach.</p> <p>This research focuses on walking experience in commercial three-dimensional systems. Taking Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone as the main case, this research aims to identify the indices and evaluation method of walking experience in commercial three-dimensional systems, and to determine how to improve walking experience using the evaluation results.</p> <p>In the first and second parts, the research analyses concept and evaluation principles based on current research and theories. Meanwhile, the research thoroughly analyses the walking space system of Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone. On the basis of the first two parts, the research establishes an evaluation index system, and then calculates the weights of each index. Using this system, the research carries out a field study and collects pedestrian satisfaction evaluation data of walking experience in Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone. The next phase of the research identifies which indices require the most improvement, based on the collected data. In the final part of this research, the author puts forward recommendations to improve the indices that require the most improvement.</p> <p>This research adopts a comprehensive methodology to fulfil the complex and multi-phase research objectives. First, the research sets participatory design as the basic principle and final goal. Post-occupancy evaluation provides the foundational methodology framework for this research. Specifically, space syntax analysis was used for the basic reading and understanding of the case study’s spatial configuration. Then, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is adopted to define the evaluation index system, and on this basis, questionnaires are compiled and sent out to collect evaluation data. Next, evaluation scores are calculated for each index item using Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE). Finally, to translate the evaluation results into practical suggestions and guidance, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) is utilised.</p> <p>This comprehensive methodology uses multiple software and tools, including SPSS for data statistics, Yaahp for the AHP method, and depthMap for space syntax analysis, along with other visualisation and graphic tools.</p> <p>The research determines a complete index system for evaluation of walking experience in commercial three-dimensional systems. With the case study of Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone, the research finds that factors concerning ‘comfort’ and ‘convenience’ affect walking experience in commercial three-dimensional systems the most, and also finds that Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone exhibits some problems in these areas. These problems can be solved, and consequently, both walking experience and space use rate would improve.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu carried out this research project independently under the supervision of Prof. Hexuan Dong.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Research on the planning and design of micro-scale public spaces</h1> <p>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Micro-scale public space; Embedding; Fixing; Public participation; Hanyang</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>Micro-scale public space refers to small-scale public space containing daily life, which is an important tool of micro-generation. Firstly, the concept, categories and current situation of micro-scale public space are analysed. The principles of micro-scale public space planning are ’embedding’, ‘fixing’ and ‘public participation’, and the goal is ‘supplement and perfection of public space system’.</p> <p>In this research project, ‘micro-scale public space’ is defined as: public spaces that are small in scale, large in number, evenly distributed, and located close to residents’ living or transit areas, serving basic daily life needs. They do not have absolutely strict size limits, but are defined relative to large public spaces in the city that are not always easily accessible for all residents. Their size is typically between approximately 300-5000m².</p> <p>Micro-scale public spaces form the base level of the urban public space system, and are critical to urban equality as they offer equitable access to high-quality public spaces. Large urban parks and greenways serve as the core or axes of the urban public space system, while medium-sized public spaces, such as central green spaces and open sports facilities, constitute the main nodes of the urban spatial network. In contrast, small parks, squares, and green spaces are small in area, scattered in layout, and permeate every corner of the city. These are the spaces most easily accessed and used daily by ordinary citizens, especially vulnerable groups at the grassroots level, and they play a fundamental role. In other words, micro-scale public spaces solve the ’last mile’ problem of the urban public space system.</p> <p>Based on the surrounding urban functions and the primary users they serve, micro-scale public spaces can be classified into five categories: community, commercial, transport, tourism, and public service. These five types of micro-scale public spaces each have distinct characteristics in terms of spatial form, function, and usage. Therefore, the planning of urban micro-scale public spaces must fully consider these characteristics and be carried out with a targeted approach.</p> <p>With the improvement of living standards, citizens’ demand for urban public spaces is also increasing. However, for a long time, at the planning and management level, China’s current planning and architectural design system has not clearly defined the scope of responsibility for urban micro-scale public spaces. This has led to a ’no one’s responsibility’ situation in many cities regarding the planning, design, investment, construction, use, and management of micro-scale public spaces.</p> <p>This research has found that this management situation has caused significant problems in the current development of urban micro-scale public spaces. Firstly, the quality of facilities and greening in existing micro-scale public spaces are unsatisfactory. Secondly, the hierarchy of urban public spaces is incomplete. Large and medium-sized public spaces dominate, while micro-scale public spaces, for various reasons, have not fully played their due urban functions, resulting in a serious lack of the ’last mile’ in the urban public space system. Finally, the functional facilities of urban micro-scale public spaces are monotonous, and the facilities, layout, functions, and landscape are all very similar. They fail to fully explore the city’s unique cultural and natural characteristics, making it difficult for citizens to feel a sense of belonging and identity.</p> <p>However, despite these problems, there are relatively abundant existing spatial resources available for micro-scale public space, such as front space of stores, spaces between buildings, and community green spaces. With reasonable and appropriate planning and development, these can be transformed into high-quality micro-scale public spaces that meet the daily needs of citizens.</p> <p>This research proposes ’embedding,’ ‘repairing,’ and ‘public participation’ as three key methodological principles for micro-scale public space planning. The ’embedding’ principle requires, based on a full understanding of the unique role of micro-scale public spaces, analysing the existing public space system and ’embedding’ micro-scale public spaces in appropriate locations within the existing system. This ensures that they neither conflict with nor overlap with existing large and medium-sized public spaces, forming a complete hierarchical public space system.</p> <p>The ‘repairing’ principle requires replacing ‘adding’ with ‘repairing’ as much as possible to sustainably develop the potential of urban spaces. This means making efforts to identify potential and undeveloped spatial resources, such as spaces between buildings, wider pavements, and spaces under elevated roads, and transforming them into high-quality micro-scale public spaces by improving their spatial quality, rather than deliberately creating new spaces by demolishing buildings.</p> <p>The ‘public participation’ principle is the most important one, requiring the inclusion of community residents in the planning and design process, and fully collecting and respecting their opinions. Urban micro-scale public spaces are widely distributed, scattered, and deeply integrated into the city. Relying solely on a limited number of planning and design personnel makes it difficult to conduct comprehensive surveys and in-depth experiential research. As the high-frequency users of urban micro-scale public spaces, community residents are the authoritative judges of their quality. Their participation will greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of micro-scale public space planning. In addition to traditional methods such as questionnaires and in-depth interviews, the digital age allows for the use of digital platforms, enabling space users to directly express practical suggestions and needs. During the planning implementation process, these users of micro-scale public spaces can also directly participate in the development of planning and design schemes.</p> <p>To translate micro-scale public space planning outcomes into practical action guidelines, this research also discusses how to develop a planning implementation control system, including implementation regulations and management, implementation entities and methods, and phased action plans. Furthermore, this research points out the necessity of conducting detailed designs for a few representative micro-scale public spaces, serving as design guidelines to complement the planning scheme.</p> <p>Finally, the research results are applied to the Hanyang District micro-scale public space planning project ( ), putting into practice the planning principles and methods proposed in the research.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu conducted thorough participatory investigation on the Hanyang District, carried out comparative case studies and literature review, contributed to analysing and proposing design strategies, and co-authored research papers.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Cross-Scale Production and Integration of Public Space: Insights from the Boston Experience</h1> <p>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Urban Design; Boston Experience; Public Space; Grey-Green Infrastructure; Architectural Intervention; Cross-Scale Integration</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>This research project establishes Boston (including the Greater Boston area) as its core empirical subject, offering a deep analysis of the city’s spatial governance strategies in response to the challenges of high-density modernization. As one of the oldest and most dynamic cities in the United States, Boston has accumulated extensive historical experience in the renewal of urban stock and the systematic construction of public space. By interpreting a series of landmark urban design and architectural cases across different scales, this project aims to reveal the underlying logic of macroscopic infrastructure integration and microscopic architectural repair, providing a theoretical reference for spatial production in contemporary high-density cities.</p> <p><strong>The Macro Dimension:</strong></br> At the macro level, the project focuses on the integration of “grey and green infrastructure.” It provides an in-depth analysis of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace, the Charles River Park, and the renowned Big Dig (Central Artery/Tunnel Project). Through these three cases spanning different historical periods, the study reveals how Boston synergized municipal “grey infrastructure” (transportation, flood control) with ecological “green infrastructure.” This multidimensional coordination successfully transformed fragmented engineering lands into large-scale linear public spaces with high ecological performance and social service functions, achieving the secondary development and stitching of large-scale urban stock resources.</p> <p><strong>The Micro Dimension:</strong></br> At the micro level, the project explores the unique pathways of architectural intervention in urban micro-renewal within Boston and its surrounding areas. The research selects the controversial Boston City Hall Plaza, Le Corbusier’s only building in North America—the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, and the Harvard Square Subway Kiosk as key case studies. Through the analysis of these cases, the project posits that “the production of mini-type public space is the other half of architectural design’s mission.” It elucidates how, in Boston’s high-density neighborhoods, architecture actively repairs urban fabric and activates neighborhood life through morphological replacement, structural reconfiguration, and functional coupling, rather than existing merely as isolated entities.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong></br> In summary, this project constructs a cross-scale research framework of “Infrastructure-Urban-Architecture” based on the Boston experience. It aims to distill the dual strategies of “Grey-Green Integration” and “Architectural Intervention” from Boston’s century of practice, offering practical strategies and valuable insights for cities transitioning through stock renewal to address the scarcity of public space and enhance spatial performance.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Survey of modern heritage between 1949-1978 in Wuchang District, Wuhan</h1> <p>Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Wuchang District; Wuhan; Value composition; Evaluation criteria; Modern heritage</p> <h3 id="introduction">Introduction</h3> <p>As a valuable part of tangible cultural heritage, historical buildings are indelible marks that humanity has left throughout history. Historical buildings from different periods are material objects from specific historical times, carrying significant historical, social, cultural, and economic value.</p> <p>The three decades from the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 to the reform and opening up in 1978 were a unique historical period for the young nation. Under the circumstances of collectivity, urban construction saw the emergence of many remarkable buildings, whose forms, originality, and context evoked considerable responses. These buildings possess significant artistic value. Some represent breakthroughs in architectural technology, demonstrating bold attempts to use new materials and technologies. Others preserve memories of continuous development in infrastructure construction and modernisation during the early years of the People’s Republic of China, embodying the characteristics of modern cities. Furthermore, some buildings, still inhabited by original residents, offer a genuine portrayal of production activities and life experiences. They carry important social emotions related to people’s life experiences and the collective construction of new China, and are crucial to understanding a city’s cultural deposits.</p> <p>Despite these values, the buildings between 1949 and 1978 are usually absent from the preserving plans in most cities in China. This research aims to provide a pioneering example for identifying and protecting such valuable modern built heritages.</p> <p>Therefore, this research develops a set of widely applicable and effective value evaluation criteria for historical buildings constructed after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949-1978). It uses Wuchang District (in Wuhan city) as an example, aiming to both meet the need for protecting architectural heritage and provide a theoretical foundation for the value evaluation and protection of historical buildings in Wuhan city and China, constructed after 1949.</p> <p>This research begins with a review of the basic theories of value evaluation and the protection of historical buildings, both domestically and internationally. It then analyses the components of value in historical buildings constructed after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949-1978). Using Wuchang District of Wuhan city as a case study, this research proposes a preliminary value evaluation framework suitable for these buildings. Through several site investigations and discussions with experts, this framework is refined.</p> <p>Finally, this research develops a value evaluation method that combines rapid recording with hierarchical evaluation, and applies it to select a list of notable historical buildings in Wuchang District from this period.</p> <h3 id="my-role">My role</h3> <p>Qian Liu carried out survey and archival research on Luojiashan Community and Jiyuqiao Community, contributed to preparing the final report and presentation.</p> </article> <article> <h1>🎉 I have joined HUST as a postdoctoral researcher!</h1> <p>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>I am excited to share that I have recently started a new position as a <strong>Postdoctoral Researcher at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST)</strong> in Wuhan, China, where I have the pleasure of working with Prof. Dong Hexuan and a fantastic team.</p> <p>In this new chapter, I look forward to broadening my research on <strong>spatial inequality</strong>, building on my doctoral work, which examined equal access to public spaces for both residents and visitors in historical cities.</p> <p>Moving forward, I will integrate <strong>spatial data science and AI-driven analytics</strong> into my research to better understand complex spatial behaviors. Through these approaches, I hope to contribute to evidence-based strategies that promote inclusive urbanism and spatial equity.</p> <p>I am excited about the journey ahead and look forward to connecting, exchanging ideas, and collaborating with scholars and practitioners who are passionate about creating more equitable and inclusive cities. <figure><figcaption> <p>Campus History Museum of Huazhong University of Science and Technology</p> </figcaption> </figure> </p> </article> <article> <h1>The impact of city walls on urban expansion and structure of small historical cities: a Space Syntax analysis of Zhengding, China</h1> <p>Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>City walls; Space syntax; Urban growth; Historical cities; POIs analysis; Zhengding</p> <h3 id="author-contribution">Author contribution</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> conceived and designed the research, collected data, performed the space syntax analysis, and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li>Gerardo Semprebon participated in the analysis and interpretation of results and revised the manuscript.</li> <li>Kun Li contributed to the research concept, supervised the research and critically revised the manuscript.</li> </ul> <h3 id="主要图表">主要图表</h3> <div style="max-width: 650px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>The results of NAIN (Normalized Angular Integration) analysis on Zhengding in 1966, 1992, 2008, and 2024, with the built-up area illustrated with gray in the background. Source: the authors, 2024.</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Scatter plots and regression analysis between radius-3 and radius-n integration values of Zhengding across different years. Source: the authors, 2024.</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Continuing to Write: Type-morphology, Latent Structures, and the Urban Project for the Chinese City</h1> <p>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="关键词">关键词</h3> <p>Type-morphology,Latent structures,School of Milan,Continuation of context,Settlements research</p> <h3 id="全文链接">全文链接</h3> <p> </p> <h3 id="主要图表">主要图表</h3> <div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Map of the morphological semantic units of Nanshi Street (Ganzhou), showing the 2019 architectural plan typology study</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>A study on the synchronous map of Fenghuang Ancient Town in Zhashui, Shaanxi Province, showing the radial latent structure, 2019</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Open spaces as the key to the integration issue of historical site reconstruction projects: a cross‑cultural comparison</h1> <p>Wed, 19 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Open space, Reconstruction, Historical sites, Integration</p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> collected materials of the two projects through site visiting and archival research and wrote the main texts of the comparative analysis.</li> <li>Yiran Liu conducted the literature review, contributed to preparing the drawings and editing the texts.</li> <li>Laura Pezzetti supervised the research and contributed to the analysis of the Yanghe Tower project.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <div style="max-width: 650px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Dom-Römer area, view from the Dom tower in 1988 (Source: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F078972-0001/CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5472041" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5472041</a>)</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Yanghe Tower area, roof plans. Left: 1960, when the wooden hall was destroyed; Middle: 2008, before reconstruction; Right: 2018, after reconstruction (Source: the author based on DOQs from the U.S. Geological Survey and Google Earth images)</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Dom-Römer area, roof plans. Above-left: 1862; Above-right: 2010, before reconstruction; Below: after reconstruc tion (Source: the author, based on public domain maps from Ravensteins Geographische Verlagsanstalt, and Google Earth images)</p> </figcaption> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Statistical Analysis on the Impact of City Walls on Urban Expansion in Zhengding</h1> <p>Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Zhengding (正定) is a small historic city in North China, which was first established in the 7th century and grew into a regional centre. In the early 20th century, the city’s economic and political status dramatically declined due to the detour of major railway routes. The built-up area within the city walls of Zhengding shrank significantly as a consequence. Later, as a result of the economic reform in China in the 1980s, the city sprawled rapidly in the following decades, which is the particular focus of this analysis.</p> <p>The current city walls of Zhengding was first constructed in the Ming Dynasty (15th century). They have always play the crucial role of defending the city’s security since then, until the mid-20th century. Although after the foundation of PRC in 1949, several sections of the city walls were demolished for new traffic routes, most of them remained roughly intact.</p> <p>The city of Zhengding started its urban sprawl after the economic reform in China in the 1980s, during which the hindering impact of city walls became more and more prominent.</p> <p>This analysis, focusing on four representative temporal cross-sections, 1966, 1992, 2008, and 2024, aims to understanding how the city walls has impacted the urban growth in Zhengding.</p> <p>The data derived from the previous analysis on the urban network of Zhengding and its growth ( ). The Space Syntax measurement of Axial Synergy (AS) was used to indicate the extent to which the built-up area inside and outside Zhengding’s city walls were divided.</p> <p>A regression analysis was carried out between the calculation results of axial integration on global scale and on R3 scale to calculate the AS. Python data analysis libraries were used, including Pandas for basic manipulation of CSV datasets, SciPy for regression analysis, and Matplotlib for data visualisation.</p> <p>Results are shown in the following figures:</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>On the left: Basic statistics of the built-up area of Zhengding, illustrating the urban sprawl, especially the outside gradually becoming the majority.</p>  </div> </div> <p>Below: Axial Synergy of Zhengding in the four years. The R2 values between global Axial Integration and R3 Axial Integration of each year represent the Axial Synergy. The figure indicates that the built-up area inside and outside the city walls got more integrated rather than divided with the process of urban growth.</p> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>On the right: comparison between the R2 values inside and outside the city walls in the four years, showing better integration between the two parts of the city.</p>  </div> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Visualisation of Rivers in China Using Geo-Python</h1> <p>Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>This visualization shows all the rivers in China, with different colors assigned to the rivers according to their main streams, and different line widths assigned to the rivers according to their drainage areas.</p> <p>Data of the world rivers was acquired from , from which the rivers in China were filtered out using the borderline data acquired from .</p> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-python" data-lang="python"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Select the country and get its geometry</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">country_gdf</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">gpd</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">read_file</span><span class="p">()</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">country</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="s1">'China'</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">selected_country</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">country_gdf</span><span class="p">[(</span><span class="n">country_gdf</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s1">'NAME'</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">country</span><span class="p">)]</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="c1"># Filter out the geometry of the rivers from the world rivers datasets</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">river_gdf</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">gpd</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">read_file</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">hydrorivers_filepath</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">mask</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="n">selected_country</span><span class="p">)</span> </span></span></code></pre></div><p>Then, based on the data in the drainage area column (<code>UPLAND_SKM</code>) in the geo data frame, create a new line width column (<code>width</code>) and assign a value between 0.2 and 1.0 to each row based on its drainage area.</p> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-python" data-lang="python"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">original_min</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">300</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">original_max</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">30000</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">target_min</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mf">0.2</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">target_max</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mf">1.0</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">scaled</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="p">(</span><span class="n">river_gdf</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s1">'UPLAND_SKM'</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">original_min</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="p">(</span><span class="n">original_max</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">original_min</span><span class="p">)</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">river_gdf</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s1">'width'</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">scaled</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">clip</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">0</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="p">(</span><span class="n">target_max</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">target_min</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="n">target_min</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">river_gdf_final</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">river_gdf</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">sort_values</span><span class="p">([</span><span class="s1">'UPLAND_SKM'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s1">'width'</span><span class="p">])[</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="p">[</span><span class="s1">'MAIN_RIV'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s1">'UPLAND_SKM'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s1">'width'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s1">'geometry'</span><span class="p">]]</span> </span></span></code></pre></div><p>In the end, great plot and save the figure, where each river is assigned a color in the colormap according to the value in the main stream column (<code>MAIN_RIV</code>).</p> <div class="highlight"><pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code class="language-python" data-lang="python"><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">fig</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">ax</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">plt</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">subplots</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">figsize</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="mi">10</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="mi">10</span><span class="p">))</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">title</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="sa">f</span><span class="s1">'Rivers of </span><span class="si">{</span><span class="n">country</span><span class="si">}</span><span class="s1">'</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">fig</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">patch</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">set_facecolor</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'black'</span><span class="p">)</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">river_gdf_final</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">plot</span><span class="p">(</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="n">ax</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="n">ax</span><span class="p">,</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="n">categorical</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="kc">True</span><span class="p">,</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="n">column</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="s1">'MAIN_RIV'</span><span class="p">,</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="n">cmap</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="s1">'terrain'</span><span class="p">,</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> <span class="n">linewidth</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">river_gdf_final</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s1">'width'</span><span class="p">]</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="p">)</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">ax</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">set_axis_off</span><span class="p">()</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">plt</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">tight_layout</span><span class="p">()</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">ax</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">set_title</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">title</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">color</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="s1">'white'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">fontsize</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="mi">20</span><span class="p">)</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">plt</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">savefig</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'Rivers in China.jpg'</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">dpi</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="mi">300</span><span class="p">)</span> </span></span><span class="line"><span class="cl"><span class="n">plt</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">show</span><span class="p">()</span> </span></span></code></pre></div><p>The final visualisation is shown as follows:</p> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Animation of a GPS track in QGIS</h1> <p>Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>This visualisation illustrates one weekend walk using GPS track data generated by his personal smart watch. The whole animation is conducted in QGIS, the open-source GIS software.</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>First, the GPS track data was exported from the smart watch and imported into QGIS, and configure proper mark size and color.</p> <p>Besides, the mark type of ‘geometry generator’ is used to reduce the number of track points and to make the animation more readable.</p>  </div> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>Second, duplicate the track points layer, set the marker with larger size and radiant effect.</p>  </div> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>Third, edit the properties of the two track points layers, using the ‘time’ field to configure ‘Dynamic Temporal Control’.</p>  </div> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-8 items-start mb-12"> <div class="prose dark:prose-invert [&>p:first-child]:mt-0">  <p>Fourth, using the plugin QuickMapServices to load a dark base map. And create a point layer with label of time.</p>  </div> <div class="[&_figure]:m-0 md:mt-1.5"> <figure class="rounded-md shadow-sm"> </figure> </div> </div> <p>In the end, export the animation. The result is shown as follows:</p> <figure> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Points-of-Interest Analysis in Zhengding</h1> <p>Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>This analysis is part of the analysis on the impact of city walls on the urban growth in Zhengding. Points-of-interest (POI) show the distribution of different functions in the city. This analysis selected the type of POI most related to residents’ everyday life, that is, retail stores and restaurants, and visualised their distribution in the city.</p> <p>The POI data was acquired from (高德地图), the most popular web map service provider in China, with the tool EasyPOI developed by . Then the data was imported into QGIS and visualised as a heatmap. At last, the visualisation of POI distribution was overlapped with the results of Space Syntax analysis ( ).</p> <p>The result is shown in the following figure:</p> <figure> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Visual Integration Analysis of Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone</h1> <p>Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>This analysis was part of my master’s thesis research. The optics Valley Pedestrian Zone (光谷步行街) is a popular commercial complex in Wuhan, China. The goal is to understand how the spatial layout in this commercial complex affected user’s visual perception.</p> <p>Visual Integration is the most critical measurement of the Visual Graph Analysis (VGA) approach as a type of Space Syntax analysis. It measures how one space is visually connected with all other spaces. The more visually connected a space is, the more likely it is to be seen by users, and, in turn, the more likely users are to visit it. A spatial layout with higher overall Visual Integration can better help users get a clear perception of the whole place, thus giving them a greater sense of security and direction, and better walking experience. As a result, stores situated near the spots with high Visual Integration values tend to attract more customers and perform better commercially.</p> <p>The analysis was conducted using the software depthMapX, a tool dedicated to Space Syntax analysis developed by the Space Syntax team at UCL. By convention, in the analysis results, red colors refer to higher Visual Integration, and blue colors refer to lower.</p> <p>The analysis calculated the Visual Integration of all the communal spaces (corridors, courtyards) in Optics Vally Pedestrian Zone, excluding the stores. Then, the result images with colors of Visual Integration exported from depthMapX were overlapped with the floor plan.</p> <p>Results are shown in the following images:</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0"> <figure><figcaption> <p>-1 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>0 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>1 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>2 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>3 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>4 Floor</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Based on these analysis results, the research also proposed several strategies on improving the overall Visual Integration of the whole complex and to enhance the walking experience, with minimal alteration to the already established spatial layout. For example, two openings were proposed on the 1st floor, as is shown below:</p> <figure> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Experience</h1> <p>Tue, 24 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000</p> </article> <article> <h1>Analysis on the Space Network of Zhengding and Its Expansion</h1> <p>Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Zhengding (正定) is a small historic city in North China, which was first established in the 7th century and grew into a regional centre. In the early 20th century, the city’s economic and political status dramatically declined due to the detour of major railway routes. The built-up area within the city walls of Zhengding shrank significantly as a consequence. Later, as a result of the economic reform in China in the 1980s, the city sprawled rapidly in the following decades, which is the particular focus of this analysis.</p> <p>This analysis aims to understanding the urban networks of Zhengding and its evolution, focusing on four representative years, 1966, 1992, 2008, and 2024, as temporal cross-sections of the evolution process. Meanwhile, as part of the research on the impact of city walls on urban growth, the networks within and outside the city walls are particularly compared.</p> <p>Space Syntax is used as the major conceptual basis in this analysis. Specifically, two syntactic measurements, Normal Angular Integration (NAIN) and Normal Angular Choice (NACH) were calculated for indicating the accessibility and connection of each section in the road network of Zhengding, and for identifying the centre(s) and structural elements in this network.</p> <p>The measurements, NAIN and NACH, were calculated using the software depthMapX, a tool dedicated for Space Syntax analysis developed by UCL. And then overlapped with the shadows of built-up areas using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, for better illustration of the urban sprawl process.</p> <p>Results are shown as follows:</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Normal Angular Integration (NAIN) calculation results in the four years. Red colors indicate high NAIN value, while blue colors indicate low values. Centre(s) and structural axes can be identified.</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Normal Angular Choice (NACH) calculation results in the four years. Red colors indicate high NACH value, while blue colors indicate low values. Centre(s) and structural axes can be identified.</p> </figcaption> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>The simplified courtyard and its public space in North China’s small cities: significance, threats, and opportunities</h1> <p>Sat, 15 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Simplified courtyard; Public space; Urban regeneration</p> <h3 id="conference">Conference</h3> <p>This paper was presented as a <strong>poster</strong> at the <strong>35th Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Annual Congress</strong>, themed <strong>“Integrated Planning in a World of Turbulence”</strong>, held in Łódź, Poland, from July 11 to 15, 2023.</p> <h3 id="permalink">Permalink</h3> <p> </p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> conceptualised the research, collected materials, made the drawings and wrote the main texts.</li> <li>Laura Pezzetti supervised the research and critically revised the manuscript.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <p><figure><figcaption> <p>The evolution of courtyard houses in Zhengding; phase c is the Simplified Courtyard</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>The open spaces in the central area of Zhengding , a comparison between the situation in 1966 (top left), 2002 (top right), and 2020 (bottom).</p> </figcaption> </figure> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Role of public spaces between built heritage and living city: the case of Changle Gate in Zhengding, China</h1> <p>Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Public spaces; Built heritage, Zhengding; China; Changle Gate; tourism</p> <h3 id="conference">Conference</h3> <p>This paper was presented <strong>orally</strong> at the <strong>34th Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) Annual Congress</strong>, themed <strong>“Space for Species: Redefining Spatial Justice”</strong>, held in Tartu, Estonia, from July 25 to 29, 2022.</p> <h3 id="permalink">Permalink</h3> <p> </p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> conceptualised the research, collected materials, made the drawings and wrote the main texts.</li> <li>Laura Pezzetti supervised the research and critically revised the manuscript.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <div style="max-width: 400px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Changle Gate, layout restored in 2013-2019.</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Expansions of the city of Zhengding.</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Tourism-boosting rebuilding of historic buildings and urban form: the case study of Yanghe Tower and its urban morphology in Zhengding, China</h1> <p>Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Rebuilding; Yanghe Tower; Zhengding; Urban form; Tourism</p> <h3 id="conference">Conference</h3> <p>This paper was presented <strong>orally</strong> at the <strong>XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF)</strong>, themed <strong>“Urban Form and the Sustainable and Prosperous City”</strong>, held in Glasgow, UK, from June 29 to July 03, 2021.</p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> conceptualised the research, collected materials, made the drawings and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li>Laura Pezzetti drafted the manuscript, supervised the research and critically revised the manuscript.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <div style="max-width: 500px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Map from Zhengding Gazetteer dated 1646, showing the urban axes and two symmetric square blocks</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>The ‘city for tourists’ and the ‘axes for tourists’, showing the remaining heritages sites in Zhengding</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Miniature public space planning: a case study of Hanyang District in Wuhan</h1> <p>Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Miniature public space; Embedding; Fixing; Public participation; Hanyang</p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li>Hexuan Dong conceptualised and supervised the research, and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> made the drawings and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li>Fang Wang made the drawings and proofread the manuscript.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Distribution of miniature public spaces in Hanyang</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <figure><figcaption> <p>Example of planning control tables of miniature public spaces in Hanyang (Jianghan Erqiao Subdistrict)</p> </figcaption> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Large-scale public space construction based on grey and green infrastructure: from experience of Boston to contemporary practice</h1> <p>Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Mini-type public space; Architectural design; Responsibility and mission</p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li>He-xuan Dong conceptualised and supervised the research, collected materials, and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li><strong>Qian Liu</strong> collected comparative cases, drafted the manuscript, and made the drawings.</li> <li>Shuang-ting Li made the drawings.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <p><figure><figcaption> <p>The expansion of Boston</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Comparison between ‘BIG-U’, High-line Park, and Ningbo Ecological Corridor</p> </figcaption> </figure> </p> </article> <article> <h1>Teaching assistant for architectural and urban design studio at Politecnico di Milano</h1> <p>Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Qian Liu served as a teaching assistant for the Master’s level course ‘Thematic Studio (Section E) - Architectural and Urban Design’ at Politecnico di Milano. This course was designed for international students, including students from Italy, Spain, Turkey, China, Armenia, etc., and was conducted in English. Qian Liu held this position in the fall of 2021 and again in the fall of 2022.</p> <p>In the fall of 2021, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the teaching method was hybrid. It transitioned to in-person instruction in the fall of 2022, which allowed students to conduct more effective on-site surveys of the design sites.</p> <p>The course focused on architectural and urban design. The course content centred on the urban regeneration of the historic centre of Meda, Italy, and the urban regeneration of the historic centre of Ganzhou, China. Students were given the choice between these two sites for their projects.</p> <p>Instruction emphasised the reading and rewriting of historical urban morphology and the revitalisation of emptied historical centres through the creation of high-quality urban public spaces and architecture that aligned with the urban context. The course also placed importance on energy sustainability, including building thermal environment simulation, and heritage preservation methods and techniques, such as decay identification and fixation.</p> <p>Qian Liu’s responsibilities as a teaching assistant included reviewing the design work of each group, leading on-site surveys, and helping to organise class sessions and exams, prepare the course curriculum, and gather necessary graphical and textual materials for students’ design projects.</p> <p>Qian Liu’s broader teaching philosophy, which informed his approach in this role, prioritises fostering an environment where students develop critical and creative thinking, proactively seek out resources, and receive constructive feedback. He believes in guiding students to actively construct their understanding rather than passively absorb information and strives to create an inclusive classroom culture that respects individual differences and diverse learning styles.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Group photo of students, professors, and teachign assistants, during on-site survey in Meda, October 2022</p> </figcaption> </figure> <figure><figcaption> <p>Group photo on the exam day, December 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="examples-of-students-works">Examples of students’ works:</h2> <h3 id="example-1">Example 1</h3> <p>Student group: Y. Xiong，J. Wen，J. Lu，Z. Huang，X. Huang</br> The Ganzhou case: Urban regeneration of Nanshijie Historical District, Ganzhou</br> 2021 Fall semester</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 plan-border"> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> </div> <hr> <h3 id="example-2">Example 2</h3> <p>Student group: S. Abad, A. Gaviria, K. Lyson, L. Zabolski</br> The Meda case: Revitalisation of the ‘Lacuna’ courtyards in the historical centre of Meda, Italy</br> 2021 Fall semester</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 plan-border"> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> </div> <hr> <h3 id="example-3">Example 3</h3> <p>Student group: M. C. Behr, Q. Bao, X. He</br> The Meda case: Reusing the built heritage of Palazzo Mascheroni, Meda, Italy</br> 2021 Fall semester</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 plan-border"> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> </div> <hr> <h3 id="example-4">Example 4</h3> <p>Student group: M. I. R. Bravo, L. Mazzi, W. Feng</br> The Meda case: Revitalisation of the ‘Lacuna’ courtyards in the historical centre of Meda, Italy</br> 2022 Fall semester</p> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-4 gap-y-6 mt-8 -mb-2 [&_figure]:m-0 plan-border"> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> <figure> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The production of urban mini-type public space: another half mission of architectural design</h1> <p>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000</p> <h3 id="keywords">Keywords</h3> <p>Mini-type public space; Architectural design; Responsibility and mission</p> <h3 id="author-contributions">Author contributions</h3> <ul> <li>Hexuan Dong conceptualised and supervised the research, collected materials, and drafted the manuscript.</li> <li>Qian Liu collected comparative cases, drafted the manuscript, and made the drawings.</li> </ul> <h3 id="key-figures">Key figures</h3> <figure><figcaption> <p>Re-structure of urban streets</p> </figcaption> </figure> <div style="max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Evolution of the Municipal Square in Boston</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Teaching assistant at the joint workshop between Politecnico di Milano and Southeast University</h1> <p>Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Qian Liu served as a teaching assistant for the Master’s level international workshop, ‘The Urban Regeneration Project for Ganzhou: Between City, Underground and Water’ in June 2021. This workshop was a joint collaboration between Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and Southeast University, China.</p> <p>The workshop was conducted online due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The participants were international Master’s students from various countries, including Italy, China, Spain, and Turkey, with a total of approximately 30 students. The language of instruction was English.</p> <p>The workshop focused on architectural and urban design. The content centred on the urban regeneration of the historic centre of Ganzhou, China, mainly the Nanshijie (南市街) district. This involved connecting historical monuments such as the Confucius Temple, Buddhist temples, an old commercial street with historical courtyard residences, and an abandoned underground drainage system ‘Fu-shou Gou’ that dates back to the Song Dynasty (11th century).</p> <p>Instruction emphasised reading and rewriting historical urban morphology and revitalising the emptied historical centre by producing high-quality urban public spaces and architecture that fits the urban context. Particular attention was given to the unique ancient drainage system, which students were encouraged to integrate into their design projects to rediscover and exhibit this historical structure.</p> <p>Qian Liu’s responsibilities as a teaching assistant included supporting the professors (Prof. Laura Pezzetti and Prof. Li Bao) in facilitating the workshop and guiding the students in their design projects.</p> <p>Throughout his involvement, Qian Liu’s overarching teaching philosophy guided his approach. This philosophy prioritises fostering students’ critical and creative thinking, encouraging proactive resourcefulness, and providing constructive feedback. He believes in facilitating active knowledge construction over passive information absorption and strives to create an inclusive and respectful learning environment that acknowledges the diversity of students’ backgrounds and learning styles.</p> <div style="max-width: 500px; margin: 0 auto;"> <figure><figcaption> <p>Screenshot on the last day of the joint workshop, June 2021</p> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Senior lecturer in architectural and urban history at Wuhan Zebra Crossing Education</h1> <p>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>Qian Liu’s involvement with Wuhan Zebra Corssing Education Technology Co., Ltd. began during his master’s studies, initially taking on a part-time role teaching architectural and urban history. His responsibilities included delivering lectures, designing and developing curriculum.</p> <p>His contributions to the company steadily increased, culminating in his promotion to the full-time position of head of architectural history and theory courses in September 2018. In this role, his responsibilities expanded to include coordinating and managing faculty.</p> <p>Qian Liu’s dedication and effectiveness in this role were recognised in 2018 when <strong>he received the ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’</strong>.</p> <p>The courses he taught included Western Architectural and Urban History, Chinese Architecture and Urban History, and Architectural Construction. Throughout his time at Zebra Crossing, Qian Liu’s teaching philosophy centred on cultivating critical and creative thinking in students, encouraging proactive resourcefulness, and providing constructive feedback within an inclusive and respectful learning environment. His approach aimed to guide students beyond passive information absorption, fostering their active construction of understanding of the subject matter.</p> <figure><figcaption> <p>Photo with students, July 2019</p> </figcaption> </figure> </article> <article> <h1>Curriculum Vitae</h1> <p>Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000</p> <p>An urban researcher, architect, and urban designer, integrating spatial data science and computational urban analytics to investigate inclusive city, social sustainability, urban regeneration, and socio-spatial processes. His work combines machine learning, geospatial analysis, and urban theory to develop data-driven approaches for understanding complex urban contexts.</p> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s0hbhb-education"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M4.26 10.147a60 60 0 0 0-.491 6.347A48.6 48.6 0 0 1 12 20.904a48.6 48.6 0 0 1 8.232-4.41a61 61 0 0 0-.491-6.347m-15.482 0a51 51 0 0 0-2.658-.813A60 60 0 0 1 12 3.493a60 60 0 0 1 10.399 5.84q-1.345.372-2.658.814m-15.482 0A51 51 0 0 1 12 13.489a50.7 50.7 0 0 1 7.74-3.342M6.75 15a.75.75 0 1 0 0-1.5a.75.75 0 0 0 0 1.5m0 0v-3.675A55 55 0 0 1 12 8.443m-7.007 11.55A5.98 5.98 0 0 0 6.75 15.75v-1.5"/></svg> </span> Education</h2> <h3 id="201911---202405">2019.11 - 2024.05</h3> <h4 id="phd-in-architectural-and-urban-design">Ph.D. in Architectural and Urban Design</h4> <p>Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Thesis: Sustainable Production of Public Space in Small Historic Cities in China</li> <li>Research topics: inclusive city, cultural sustainable urban regeneration, tourism balance, public life in high-density contexts.</li> </ul> <h3 id="201509---201809">2015.09 - 2018.09</h3> <h4 id="m-arch">M. Arch.</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Thesis: Walking Experience Evaluation of Urban Three-Dimensional Commercial Street.</li> <li>Research topics: Public space and public life in high-density urban context, spatial equality, micro-scale urban regeneration</li> </ul> <h3 id="201109---201506">2011.09 - 2015.06</h3> <h4 id="beng-in-spatial-information-and-digital-technology">B.Eng. in Spatial Information and Digital Technology</h4> <p>Wuhan University, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Graduation project: Design and Implementation of Web Front-end of City Portal System Based on jQuery Framework</li> <li>Focus: Focus: Computer science foundation, programming logic, digital mapping, and spatial data processing.</li> </ul> <h3 id="201109---201506-1">2011.09 - 2015.06</h3> <h4 id="beng-minor-in-architecture">B.Eng. (Minor) in Architecture</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Graduation project: Design of a High-rise Comprehensive Office Building in Optics Valley Plaza, Wuhan</li> <li>Double-degree programme under the framework of <em>the Cooperation Consortium of Wuhan Universities</em></li> </ul> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s1hbhb-work-experience"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M20.25 14.15v4.25c0 1.094-.787 2.036-1.872 2.18c-2.087.277-4.216.42-6.378.42s-4.291-.143-6.378-.42c-1.085-.144-1.872-1.086-1.872-2.18v-4.25m16.5 0a2.18 2.18 0 0 0 .75-1.661V8.706c0-1.081-.768-2.015-1.837-2.175a48 48 0 0 0-3.413-.387m4.5 8.006c-.194.165-.42.295-.673.38A24 24 0 0 1 12 15.75a24 24 0 0 1-7.577-1.22a2 2 0 0 1-.673-.38m0 0A2.18 2.18 0 0 1 3 12.489V8.706c0-1.081.768-2.015 1.837-2.175a48 48 0 0 1 3.413-.387m7.5 0V5.25A2.25 2.25 0 0 0 13.5 3h-3a2.25 2.25 0 0 0-2.25 2.25v.894m7.5 0a49 49 0 0 0-7.5 0M12 12.75h.008v.008H12z"/></svg> </span> Work Experience</h2> <h3 id="202606---present">2026.06 - Present</h3> <h4 id="postdoctoral-researcher">Postdoctoral Researcher</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Research topics: inclusive city, spatial inequality, public spaces in high-density urban contexts, machine learning and deep learning in urban studies</li> </ul> <h3 id="202406---202605">2024.06 - 2026.05</h3> <h4 id="independent-architect">Independent Architect</h4> <p>Milan, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Provided architectural consultancy and design services for private residential and commercial projects.</li> <li>Conducted research and published 3 academic and 1 non-academic articles.</li> </ul> <h3 id="201810---201910-full-time-201507---201809-part-time">2018.10 - 2019.10 (Full-time); 2015.07 - 2018.09 (Part-time)</h3> <h4 id="senior-lecturer--head-of-course-group">Senior Lecturer & Head of Course Group</h4> <p>Wuhan Zebra Crossing Education, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Curriculum development: Led the academic planning and syllabus design for 3 courses in the group of Architectural History and Theory.</li> <li>Team leadership: Managed a teaching team of over 10 junior lecturers: task allocation, performance evaluation, and maintaining teaching quality consistency.</li> <li>Distinguished Contribution Award in 2018, recognising excellence in teaching and curriculum development.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s3hbhb-research-interests"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M11.48 3.499a.562.562 0 0 1 1.04 0l2.125 5.111a.56.56 0 0 0 .475.345l5.518.442c.499.04.701.663.321.988l-4.204 3.602a.56.56 0 0 0-.182.557l1.285 5.385a.562.562 0 0 1-.84.61l-4.725-2.885a.56.56 0 0 0-.586 0L6.982 20.54a.562.562 0 0 1-.84-.61l1.285-5.386a.56.56 0 0 0-.182-.557l-4.204-3.602a.562.562 0 0 1 .321-.988l5.518-.442a.56.56 0 0 0 .475-.345z"/></svg> </span> Research Interests</h2> <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-x-8 w-full"> <div> <ul> <li>Inclusive city and spatial inequality</li> <li>Cultural sustainable urban regeneration</li> <li>Public spaces in high-density contexts</li> <li>Urban morphology and urban evolution</li> </ul> </div> <div> <ul> <li>Machine learning & deep learning in urban studies</li> <li>GeoAI and Spatial Data Science</li> <li>Computational urban studies</li> <li>Human-centred Urban Analytics</li> </ul> </div> </div> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s4hbhb-publications"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M19.5 14.25v-2.625a3.375 3.375 0 0 0-3.375-3.375h-1.5A1.125 1.125 0 0 1 13.5 7.125v-1.5a3.375 3.375 0 0 0-3.375-3.375H8.25m0 12.75h7.5m-7.5 3H12M10.5 2.25H5.625c-.621 0-1.125.504-1.125 1.125v17.25c0 .621.504 1.125 1.125 1.125h12.75c.621 0 1.125-.504 1.125-1.125V11.25a9 9 0 0 0-9-9"/></svg> </span> Publications</h2> <h4 id="journal-papers--corresponding-author">Journal Papers ( * Corresponding author)</h4> <ol> <li> <p><strong>Liu, Q.</strong>, Semprebon, G. and Li, K.* (2025) ʻThe impact of city walls on urban growth and spatial structure of historical cities: A space syntax analysis of Zhengding, Chinaʼ, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 1-18. DOI: . <strong>(SCI / A&HCI / Scopus)</strong> </p> </li> <li> <p>Pezzetti, L.*, Li, K. and <strong>Liu, Q.</strong> (2025) ʻContinuing to Write: Type-morphology, Latent Structures, and the Urban Project for the Chinese Cityʼ, The Architect, no. 02, pp. 6-15. DOI: . <strong>(CSSCI)</strong> </p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Liu, Q.</strong>*, Liu, Y. and Pezzetti, L. (2025) ʻOpen spaces as the key to the integration issue of historical site reconstruction projects: a cross-cultural comparisonʼ, Built Heritage, vol. 9, no. 1. DOI: . <strong>(Scopus/CSCD)</strong> </p> </li> <li> <p>Dong, H., <strong>Liu, Q.</strong> and Wang, F. (2018) ʻMiniature Public Space Planning: A Case Study of Hanyang District in Wuhanʼ, City Planning Review, vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 33–43. DOI: . <strong>(CSSCI / CSCD)</strong> </p> </li> <li> <p>Dong, H., <strong>Liu, Q.</strong> and Li, S. (2017) ʻLarge-Scale Public Space Construction Based on Grey and Green Infrastructure: From Experience of Boston to Contemporary Practiceʼ, Chinese Landscape Architecture, vol. 33, no. 10, pp. 113–118. Available at . <strong>(CSCD / Chinese Core Journal)</strong> </p> </li> <li> <p>Dong, H. and <strong>Liu, Q.</strong> (2016) ʻThe Production of Urban Mini-type Public Space: Another Half Mission of Architectural Designʼ, New Architecture, no. 6, pp. 33–38. DOI: . </p> </li> </ol> <h4 id="conference-papers">Conference Papers</h4> <ol start="7"> <li> <p><strong>Liu, Q.</strong> and Pezzetti, L. (2023) ʻThe Simplified Courtyard and Its Public Space in North Chinaʼs Small Cities: Significance, Threats, and Opportunitiesʼ, Integrated Planning in the Context of Global Turbulence: Book of Proceedings of 35th AESOP Annual Congress. Łódź, Poland, July 10-15th, pp. 855–869. Available at . </p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Liu, Q.</strong> and Pezzetti, L. (2022) ʻRole of Public Spaces Between Built Heritge and Living City: the case of Changle Gate in Zhengding, Chinaʼ, Book of Proceedings: AESOP 2022 Congress ʻSpace for Species: Redefining Spatial Justiceʼ. Tartu, pp. 217–225. Available at . </p> </li> <li> <p><strong>Liu, Q.</strong> and Pezzetti, L. (2022) ʻTourism-boosting rebuilding of historic buildings and urban form: the case study of Yanghe Tower and its urban morphology in Zhengding, Chinaʼ, Annual Conference Proceedings of the XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form. Glasgow, University of Strathclyde Publishing, pp. 634–641. DOI: . </p> </li> </ol> <h4 id="selected-media-commentary">Selected Media Commentary</h4> <ol start="10"> <li><strong>Liu, Q.</strong> (2025, June 20). Rediscovering Yanghe Tower. Heibei Daily (Provincial-level newspaper). Available at .</li> </ol> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s14hbhb-research-projects"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M12 6.042A8.97 8.97 0 0 0 6 3.75c-1.052 0-2.062.18-3 .512v14.25A9 9 0 0 1 6 18c2.305 0 4.408.867 6 2.292m0-14.25a8.97 8.97 0 0 1 6-2.292c1.052 0 2.062.18 3 .512v14.25A9 9 0 0 0 18 18a8.97 8.97 0 0 0-6 2.292m0-14.25v14.25"/></svg> </span> Research Projects</h2> <h3 id="2019---2024">2019 - 2024</h3> <h4 id="sustainable-production-of-public-spaces-in-small-historic-cities">Sustainable Production of Public Spaces in Small Historic Cities</h4> <p>Politecnico di Milano</p> <ul> <li>Role: PhD research, independently conducted.</li> <li>Context: Investigated the morphological evolution of public spaces under urbanization and tourism pressures, viewing urban forms as adaptive commons for social resilience.</li> <li>Contribution: Developed a typo-morphological framework to public space regeneration strategies that balance heritage conservation, tourism growth, and local public life in historic cities.</li> <li>Methodology: Integrated historical research with quantitative spatial analysis (Space Syntax & Python).</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2020---2021">2020 - 2021</h3> <h4 id="school-buildings-towards-a-new-extraordinary">School Buildings towards a New Extraordinary</h4> <p>Osservatorio Scuole, Politecnico di Milano</p> <ul> <li>Role: Key researcher in the team led by PI Prof. Laura Pezzetti</li> <li>Commissioned and funded by the municipality of Milan</li> <li>Investigated the resilience and students’ wellbeing in school buildings in northern Italy in the post-COVID context.</li> <li>Conducted spatial analysis to propose redevelopment strategies for social distancing, directly informing the redevelopment projects of school complexes in Milan and Vimercate, Italy.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2017---2018">2017 - 2018</h3> <h4 id="walking-experience-evaluation-of-urban-three-dimensional-commercial-street-a-case-study-of-optics-valley-pedestrian-zone">Walking Experience Evaluation of Urban Three-Dimensional Commercial Street: A Case Study of Optics Valley Pedestrian Zone</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology</p> <ul> <li>Role: Masterʼs thesis, independent research supervised by Prof. Hexuan Dong.</li> <li>Contribution: Addressed the quality of public spaces in complex, multi-level commercial districts. Established an evidence-based assessment model, proposed principles and strategies for optimizing vertical public space design.</li> <li>Methodology: Integrated Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), Space Syntax, on-site survey, and statistical analysis (e.g. AHP) to correlate spatial configuration with usersʼ behaviour and perception patterns.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2016---2017">2016 - 2017</h3> <h4 id="research-on-planning-and-design-of-micro-scale-public-spaces">Research on Planning and Design of Micro-scale Public Spaces</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology</p> <ul> <li>Role: Core researcher in the team led by PI Prof. Hexuan Dong.</li> <li>Contribution: Qian Liu conducted comprehensive surveys, communicated with government officials, formulated detailed design guidelines and construction standards for micro-public spaces.</li> <li>Impact: The findings and results were officially adopted by the Municipal Bureau of Planning and integrated into the municipal GIS management system, directly transforming research into enforceable urban policy tools.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2015---2016">2015 - 2016</h3> <h4 id="identification-and-evaluation-of-modern-19491978-heritage-in-wuchang">Identification and Evaluation of Modern (1949~1978) Heritage in Wuchang</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology</p> <ul> <li>Role: Researcher and surveyor of the team led by Senior Engineer Ping Zheng.</li> <li>Context: Government commissioned project to develop a hierarchical value evaluation framework specifically for modern architectural heritage; identified and catalogued potential heritage sites.</li> <li>Impact: Provided the local government with a theoretical foundation and a preliminary protection list, contributing to the feasibility study of preserving the city’s modern collective memory.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s20hbhb-architectural-and-urban-design-projects"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M8.25 21v-4.875c0-.621.504-1.125 1.125-1.125h2.25c.621 0 1.125.504 1.125 1.125V21m0 0h4.5V3.545M12.75 21h7.5V10.75M2.25 21h1.5m18 0h-18M2.25 9l4.5-1.636M18.75 3l-1.5.545m0 6.205l3 1m1.5.5l-1.5-.5M6.75 7.364V3h-3v18m3-13.636l10.5-3.819"/></svg> </span> Architectural and Urban Design Projects</h2> <h3 id="2021---2022">2021 - 2022</h3> <h4 id="urban-regeneration-of-meda-historic-center">Urban Regeneration of Meda Historic Center</h4> <p>Meda, Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Role: Core member of the design team</li> <li>Designed the public space on the historic axis and the adaptive reuse of the “Lacuna” courtyard.</li> <li>Applied morphological analysis to seamlessly integrate contemporary community functions into the historical urban fabric, balancing conservation with modern utility.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2021---2023">2021 - 2023</h3> <h4 id="redevelopment-of-vimercate-all-inclusive-school-center">Redevelopment of Vimercate All-inclusive School Center</h4> <p>Vimercate, Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Role: Core member of the design team</li> <li>Commissioned to the team lead by Prof. Laura Pezzetti by the boards of the schools and by the municipality of Vimercate.</li> <li>Qian Liu led design for Building D within the 1970s school complex consisting of 8 buildings shared by 4 schools.</li> <li>Transformed the campus into a flexible, post-pandemic learning space, to enhance student wellbeing and shared learning environments.</li> <li>Collaborated within a BIM-integrated workflow, ensuring the seamless translation of conceptual design strategies.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2020---2021-1">2020 - 2021</h3> <h4 id="renovation-of-ruffini-primary-school">Renovation of “Ruffini” Primary School</h4> <p>Milan, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Role: Core member of the design team</li> <li>Renovated the 19th-century school in the cultural centre of Milan into modern learning environment.</li> <li>Qian Liu designed the lobby and adjacent classrooms, transforming them into shared learning spaces.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2017">2017</h3> <h4 id="net-of-care-care-continuum-in-major-chinese-cities-in-2040">NET OF CARE: Care Continuum in Major Chinese Cities in 2040</h4> <p>China</p> <ul> <li>Role: Team leader, 2017 International Student & Young Architect Competition by UIA-PHG (Public Health Group of Union Internationale des Architectes), with theme “smart, green & beyond: healthcare facility of the future”.</li> <li>Honourable Mention (Global rank 7th)</li> <li>Applied evidence-based design principles to create adaptable environments for future public health challenges. Proposed a futuristic, modular healthcare system integrating green infrastructure with smart patient monitoring technologies, with the concept of urban micro-regeneration.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="2016---2017-1">2016 - 2017</h3> <h4 id="plan-and-design-of-micro-scale-public-space-in-hanyang-district">Plan and Design of Micro-scale Public Space in Hanyang District</h4> <p>Wuhan, Hubei Province, China</p> <ul> <li>Role: Core member of the design team</li> <li>Identified available spaces that could be developed into high-quality micro-scale public spaces, and proposed guidelines for designing each type of spaces.</li> <li>Qian Liu conducted on-site survey, presented and communicated with the government, prepared planning drawings, and visualised the work in ArcGIS system. Additionally, he prepared the design guidelines for the type of ‘public facility entrance space’.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s26hbhb-teching-activities"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M18 18.72a9.1 9.1 0 0 0 3.741-.479q.01-.12.01-.241a3 3 0 0 0-4.692-2.478m.94 3.197l.001.031q0 .337-.037.666A11.94 11.94 0 0 1 12 21c-2.17 0-4.207-.576-5.963-1.584A6 6 0 0 1 6 18.719m12 0a5.97 5.97 0 0 0-.941-3.197m0 0A6 6 0 0 0 12 12.75a6 6 0 0 0-5.058 2.772m0 0a3 3 0 0 0-4.681 2.72a9 9 0 0 0 3.74.477m.94-3.197a5.97 5.97 0 0 0-.94 3.197M15 6.75a3 3 0 1 1-6 0a3 3 0 0 1 6 0m6 3a2.25 2.25 0 1 1-4.5 0a2.25 2.25 0 0 1 4.5 0m-13.5 0a2.25 2.25 0 1 1-4.5 0a2.25 2.25 0 0 1 4.5 0"/></svg> </span> Teching Activities</h2> <h3 id="fall-2022-fall-2021">Fall 2022, Fall 2021</h3> <h4 id="teaching-assistant-of-studio-course">Teaching Assistant of Studio Course</h4> <p>Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy</p> <ul> <li>International Studio Course: Thematic Studio E - Architectural and Urban Design</li> <li>Guided over 50 international masterʼs students through complex projects. Prepared teaching materials and organized lecture and review sessions.</li> <li>Assisted professors in supervising M. Arch theses.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="202106">2021.06</h3> <h4 id="teaching-assistant-and-co-organizer-of-international-workshop">Teaching Assistant and Co-organizer of International Workshop</h4> <p>Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy</p> <ul> <li>Master’s level international workshop, <em>The Urban Regeneration Project for Ganzhou: Between City, Underground and Water</em>.</li> <li>Jointly organized by Politecnico di Milano, Italy and Southeast University, China</li> <li>Guided over 30 master’s level participants through transnational collaboration and design, prepared materials and guided on-site survey.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h3 id="201810---201910-full-time-201507---201809-part-time-1">2018.10 - 2019.10 (Full-time); 2015.07 - 2018.09 (Part-time)</h3> <h4 id="senior-lecturer--head-of-course-group-1">Senior Lecturer & Head of Course Group</h4> <p>Wuhan Zebra Crossing Education, Wuhan, China</p> <ul> <li>Curriculum development: Led the academic planning and syllabus design for 3 courses in the group of Architectural History and Theory.</li> <li>Team leadership: Managed a teaching team of over 10 junior lecturers: task allocation, performance evaluation, and maintaining teaching quality consistency.</li> <li>Distinguished Contribution Award in 2018, recognising excellence in teaching and curriculum development.</li> <li> </li> </ul> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s30hbhb-selected-awards-and-honors"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="1.5" d="M16.5 18.75h-9m9 0a3 3 0 0 1 3 3h-15a3 3 0 0 1 3-3m9 0v-3.375c0-.621-.503-1.125-1.125-1.125h-.871M7.5 18.75v-3.375c0-.621.504-1.125 1.125-1.125h.872m5.007 0H9.497m5.007 0a7.45 7.45 0 0 1-.982-3.172M9.497 14.25a7.45 7.45 0 0 0 .981-3.172M5.25 4.236q-1.473.215-2.916.52A6 6 0 0 0 7.73 9.728M5.25 4.236V4.5c0 2.108.966 3.99 2.48 5.228M5.25 4.236V2.721C7.456 2.41 9.71 2.25 12 2.25s4.545.16 6.75.47v1.516M7.73 9.728a6.7 6.7 0 0 0 2.748 1.35m8.272-6.842V4.5c0 2.108-.966 3.99-2.48 5.228m2.48-5.492a46 46 0 0 1 2.916.52a6 6 0 0 1-5.395 4.972m0 0a6.7 6.7 0 0 1-2.749 1.35m0 0a6.8 6.8 0 0 1-3.044 0"/></svg> </span> Selected Awards and Honors</h2> <h3 id="2018">2018</h3> <h4 id="distinguished-contribution-award">Distinguished Contribution Award</h4> <p>Wuhan Zebra Crossing Education</p> <ul> <li>Awarded in recognition of excellence in teaching and curriculum development</li> </ul> <h3 id="2018-1">2018</h3> <h4 id="outstanding-post-graduate-student">Outstanding Post-graduate Student</h4> <p>Huazhong University of Science and Technology</p> <h3 id="2017-1">2017</h3> <h4 id="national-scholarship-for-graduate-excellence">National Scholarship for Graduate Excellence</h4> <p>Ministry of Education of China</p> <ul> <li>The highest-level scholarship in China, recognizing the top 5% graduate stutents for academic excellence and achievements.</li> </ul> <h3 id="2017-2">2017</h3> <h4 id="honourable-mention-ranking-7th">Honourable Mention (ranking 7th)</h4> <p>2017 UIA-PHG International Student & Young Architect Competition</p> <h2 id="hahahugoshortcode8s31hbhb-skills-and-competencies"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <svg style="height: 1em; 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IELTS 8.0</li> </ul> </div> <div> <h4 id="hahahugoshortcode8s34hbhb-chinese-mandarin"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" width="800px" height="800px" viewBox="0 -4 28 28" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1310_9680)"> <rect width="28" height="20" rx="2" fill="white"/> <mask id="mask0_1310_9680" style="mask-type:alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="0" y="0" width="28" height="20"> <rect width="28" height="20" rx="2" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#mask0_1310_9680)"> <rect width="28" height="20" fill="#F1361D"/> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M9.91046 2.7688L10.8751 2.80998L11.1061 3.74739L11.4882 2.83054L12.4542 2.85411L11.7257 2.24629L12.0917 1.32344L11.2594 1.86464L10.5196 1.27072L10.7337 2.21302L9.91046 2.7688ZM11.7496 5.4382L12.6756 5.71154L12.673 6.67701L13.2655 5.87984L14.1972 6.13644L13.6374 5.37042L14.2158 4.56354L13.2773 4.88729L12.7031 4.132L12.6829 5.09811L11.7496 5.4382ZM13.3092 9.42015L12.5367 9.99922L12.8217 9.04774L12.0592 8.45414L13.0079 8.44515L13.3092 7.49922L13.6105 8.44515L14.5592 8.45414L13.7967 9.04774L14.0818 9.99922L13.3092 9.42015ZM10.1203 12.1428L11.0535 11.8953L11.5529 12.7216L11.645 11.7326L12.5744 11.4679L11.6981 11.1042L11.7731 10.1142L11.1394 10.8784L10.2564 10.5314L10.741 11.3674L10.1203 12.1428Z" fill="#FFDC42"/> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M6.66669 8.22666L4.31555 9.90272L5.18304 7.14872L2.86246 5.43059L5.74974 5.40459L6.66669 2.66666L7.58363 5.40459L10.4709 5.43059L8.15034 7.14872L9.01783 9.90272L6.66669 8.22666Z" fill="#FFDC42"/> </g> </g> <defs> <clipPath id="clip0_1310_9680"> <rect width="28" height="20" rx="2" fill="white"/> </clipPath> </defs> </svg> </span> Chinese (Mandarin)</h4> <ul> <li>Native</li> </ul> </div> <div> <h4 id="hahahugoshortcode8s35hbhb-italian"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <svg style="height: 1em; transform: translateY(0.1em);" width="800px" height="800px" viewBox="0 -4 28 28" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_503_4138)"> <rect x="0.25" y="0.25" width="27.5" height="19.5" rx="1.75" fill="white" stroke="#F5F5F5" stroke-width="0.5"/> <mask id="mask0_503_4138" style="mask-type:alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="0" y="0" width="28" height="20"> <rect x="0.25" y="0.25" width="27.5" height="19.5" rx="1.75" fill="white" stroke="white" stroke-width="0.5"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#mask0_503_4138)"> <rect x="18.6665" width="9.33333" height="20" fill="#E43D4C"/> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M0 20H9.33333V0H0V20Z" fill="#1BB65D"/> </g> </g> <defs> <clipPath id="clip0_503_4138"> <rect width="28" height="20" rx="2" fill="white"/> </clipPath> </defs> </svg> </span> Italian</h4> <ul> <li>Basic</li> <li>CEFR A2</li> </ul> </div> <div> <h4 id="hahahugoshortcode8s36hbhb-german"> <span class="inline-block pr-1"> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <svg style="height: 1em; 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