Every Building has a story, About the past, the future and the present.
We, architects, Are both the audience and the narrator. We, architects, Situate within the stories, Yet, look beyond.
Syracuse, NY
+1(332)276-1990
Education
Syracuse University
School of Architecture
jwang40@syr.edu jiwei.www1@gmail.com
September 2020 - May 2025
• Bachelor of Architecture, expected Spring 2025 / Syracuse Architecture in Florence, Spring 2023 / Syracuse Architecture in New York City, Fall 2023 / Dean’s List 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Professional Experience
Slash Works, NY, USA
November 2024 - Current
• Co-founded Slash Works, a creative studio specializing in furniture design. Oversaw product design, branding, and marketing strategy, ensuring high-quality craftsmanship, and cohesive artistic storytelling.
Architectural Intern Co-founder / Member
Pickard Chilton, New Haven, CT, USA
May 2024 - August 2024
• Contributed to the design development and production of key projects, focusing on innovative solutions.
• Collaborated with senior architects to refine technical drawings, presentations, and 3D models, earning a recognization for dedication and excellence.
Architectural Intern / Shadow-ship
WXY+Architecture+Urban Design, NYC, NY, USA
November 2023 - December 2023
• Worked in a guided environment within teams as participant on-going office projects
• Observed aspects of practice in the field and engaged in conversations with professionals about office structure, roles, strategies, culture, etc.
Architectural Intern
THAD, Beijing, China
• Worked as a fully collaborative member of a design team
• Participated in all phases of design and representation processes on multiple projects.
Architectural Intern
Bottega 17, Florence, Italy
• Assisted in producing graphic presentations, 3D renderings, and technical drawings
May 2023 - July 2023
January 2023 - April 2023
• Learned the professional working flow and drawing standards of an architecture studio
Research and Teaching
SOURCE Bridge Award
November 2024 - Current
THE WAY HOME : Architectural Decisions in the Context of Cultural Identity Formation
• Conduct a research study on how architectural design mediates cultural identity for Chinese American immigrants, focusing on home layouts, decor, and spatial choices. Utilize case studies and interviews to analyze the negotiation between cultural heritage and adaptation in immigrant spaces.
Undergraduate Program Assistant
School of Architecture, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
August 2024 - Current
• Second and First Year Studio - Assist in mentoring second-year architecture students, providing guidance on design projects. Supported faculty in studio management, critiques, and reviews.
• Representation II - Provided guidance and feedback to first-year Representation II students by redlining work, assisting with software questions, and supporting lectures and work sessions.
Food Studies Slash Works /01/ /02/ /03/ /04/ /05/ /06/
Disassembly Landmark Muted Extreme Habitat
Disassembly
Project Modulus
Year: 2024
Studio: ARC409
Professor: Brian Lonsway
Program: Institute
Client: Design for Disassembly Institute
Location: Syracuse, NY, USA
Team: Collaboration with Yicheng Wang (Drawings made by Yicheng will be marked with *) Plan, Section and diagrams: Rhino + Illustrator + Photoshop Renderings: Rhino + VRay + Photoshop
This project is both a research center and a living lab, designed to challenge the life-cycle of buildings and materials. By embedding principles of Design for Disassembly into every stage of the design process, we envision the building as a demonstration of adaptability, minimal material waste, and future reuse.
Set within its site’s context, the design preserves an existing brick wall from the original structure, rooting the project in its history while transforming the ground plane into a public crossing—a space that merges civic life with sustainable principles. Through modular systems, material optimization, and thoughtful spatial organization, the project embodies not just what buildings are, but what they can become: adaptable, dismantle, and regenerative.
1. Raw Material Extraction - Natural resources such as wood (forests), stone (quarries), and minerals (for concrete and steel) are extracted.
2. Supplier Processing - Raw materials are prepared for further use - Logs are milled into timber, sand and limestone are refined for glass or cement.
3. Manufacturing - Materials are converted into usable products - Wood is turned into beams, plywood, or engineered products like CLT, concrete is mixed.
4. Transportation and construction - Materials are transported from manufacturers or suppliers to construction sites. Materials are assembled on-site into the final structure (e.g., framing, cladding, finishing).
“TO MAKE BUILDING DEMOLITION A THING OF THE PAST.”
5. Occupy (Active Use Phase) - This stage focuses on the materials’ life during the building’s occupancy. Materials remain in active use, serving their intended structural, functional, or aesthetic purposes. Proper maintenance extends the lifespan of materials, delaying end-of-life issues.
6. Demolishing - The building is dismantled (either fully or partially) to clear space for new structures. Demolition often generates large amounts of waste (e.g., concrete, wood, metals).
7. Treatment - Materials are sorted and treated. Wood is chipped or burned for energy. Steel is melted down for recycling. Concrete is crushed and used as aggregate. Proper sorting is essential for recycling and reuse. Hazardous materials (e.g., asbestos, treated wood) require special handling.
8. Landfill - Non-recyclable or contaminated materials are sent to landfills. Landfills should be the last resort due to space limitations and environmental harm.
9. Recycle - Materials are processed to create new products. Examples: Steel and glass are fully recyclable. Wood is turned into particleboard or mulch.
10. Maintain - Proactive maintenance of building components (e.g., refinishing wood, repairing cracks) reduces the need for replacement.
11. Disassemble - Carefully dismantling parts of a structure to preserve materials for reuse. Examples: Wood beams, steel components, and bricks can be salvaged.
12. Reuse - Salvaged materials are directly reused in new projects. Examples: Reclaimed wood for furniture or flooring. Bricks for landscaping or retaining walls.
United States
New York
Onondaga County Syracuse Site
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM (Material Related Programs)
1. LOADING AREA
Ground Floor
A space for receiving raw materials and transporting them to fabrication areas.
2. FABRICATION
Ground Floor
A workshop equipped with digital fabrication. This area supports material processing and testing for research and construction purposes.
3. RESEARCH LAB
Second Floor (Climate-Exposed)
An open-air research and testing lab that serves as a “living lab,” showcasing economy concepts in a real-world setting. Engagement.
4.
PUBLIC CROSSING
/DEMONSTRATION/
Ground Floor (Preserved Brick Wall)
A pedestrian - friendly public area under the elevated structure. A retained element of the original bank structure, symbolizing the project’s commitment to reuse and conservation.
5. SOCIAL SPACE
Ground / Second Floor (Main Entrance)
A welcoming zone for visitors and researchers, connected to the reception area.
6. OFFICE SPACE
Second Floor
A modern workspace designed for researchers. Elevated to the second floor, the office space maximizes ground-level usability
7.
PARKING / TENANT
Ground Floor
Space allocated for parking and potential tenants from the original bank. This area ensures functional site integration while preserving opportunities for future mixed-use developments.
The disassembly aspect of this project centers on modular wooden structural frames, designed for ease of assembly, disassembly, and transportation. Each module is fabricated to dimensions that fit within a standard truck, ensuring efficient and cost-effective transport. The wood components are connected using bolts, screws, and steel brackets, avoiding permanent fixes like adhesives or welds, enabling quick dismantling without material damage.
Landmark
Bubble Crown
Year: 2023
Studio: ARC408
Professor: Rami Abou-Khalil
Program: Headquarter
Client: Landmark Preservation Commission
Location: Greenwich Village, Manhattan, NY, USA
Team: Collaboration with Theodore Dokla (Drawings made by Theodore will be marked with *) Plan, Section and diagrams: Rhino + Illustrator + Photoshop Renderings: Rhino + VRay + Photoshop
This project is dedicated to the Landmarks and Preservation Commission. This new space - part institution and part headquarters - will act as a bridge between the agency and civic life by opening up its archives, hearing rooms, laboratories and offices. The building is located in the historic district, Greenwich Village, NY. In designing this project, we re-imagined how architects relate with existing fabric, how we engage multiple histories, urban conditions, and materials with longer lives than the uses they envelope. With the resulted bubbled crown massing set on top of the original building, we preserved the existing building, amplified the public realm, and unearthed forgotten histories of the site.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is established in 1965, ensuring the city’s heritage is preserved for civic pride, tourism, and education. It oversees over 38,000 landmark properties in New York City, including 1,464 individual landmarks, 123 interior landmarks, 12 scenic landmarks, and properties across 157 historic districts and extensions.
HISTORIC DISTRICT - Washington Square Methodist Church
LANDMARK - Kent Parking Garage
The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. It is responsible for protecting New York City’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites - by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. Through case studies, we learned that individual landmarks, fo r the most part, preserves only the exteriors of buildings - the façade. In the case of our design, we want to preserve and restore the hi storicalaesthetic value of the building, from the exterior to the interior, from the building itself to the neighborhood it situated in
The new site for the LPC is located in the historic district of Greenwich Village. The site is the Northern Dispensary building, a freestanding triangular building located at the corner of Christopher street and Waverly Place. Built in 1831, the building housed a free medical clinic dedicated to serving the “worthy poor,” as stipulated by the city of New York in 1831. The structure was built by Henry Bayard, a carpenter, and John Tucker, a mason, as a two story building.
A third (top) floor was added in 1855 to accommodate an ever-growing number of patients –many of whom shaped the history of the city (Edgar Allan Poe was said to be treated there many times). The building continued to function as a medical and dental clinic until 1989, when the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York bought it with the intention of turning it into a nursing home for AIDS patients.
The interior of the Northern Dispensary in 1934, Library of Congress
Grid
unique feature of
Greenwich village is its street grid. As the old Dutch grid intersects with the Commissioner’s Plan, triangular sites are formed.
Realm
Feature
Northern Dispensary is a the triangular, brick NeoGeorgian building. The corner of the building is cut, with a special brick connection.
- Cafe
- Exhibition
- Reading Space
- Public Hearing Hall
- Exhibition
- Original Interior
- Ramp Circulation
- Office
- Meeting Space
- Material Lab
- Archive - Archive
CUT
Muted
Historia Nova
Year: 2023
Studio: ARC407
Professor: Daniele Profeta
Program: Media library and Artist Residency
Client: Community of Marsala
Location: Marsala, Sicily, Italy
Team: Collaboration with Huilin Wu, Feiyang Wu, Yuxuan Liu
(Most works are done in collaboration. Drawings collaborated with Huilin, Feiyang or Yuxuan will be marked with *)
Plan, Section and diagrams: Rhino + Illustrator + Photoshop
Renderings: Rhino + VRay + Photoshop
Model: Plywood + Laser Cut + Paper Folding + 3D Print + Spraying + Concrete with Molding
This project reimagines a cinema from the fascism period, located at the city gate of Marsala, Sicily, overlooking the ocean and Roman ruins. Acknowledging the site’s historical and cultural layers, the design transforms the isolated structure into a vibrant community complex that bridges the Sicilian people with their history and environment.
The project addresses three critical questions: How to confront the fascist history embedded in the building? How to connect with the Roman ruins? How to integrate with the city’s fabric? These questions are answered through strategies that preserve the past without erasure, minimize fascist symbolism, and reconnect the building to its surrounding landscape.
Gibellina
1968 Belice Earthquake
Old Town
After the earthquake in 1968, Gibellina, a town close to Salemi, which was destroyed by the earthquake entirely, decided to abandon the old home and search for a new site for settlements. This has resulted in the displacement of the original residents, and a cultural loss towards the local housing typology and a sense of alienation towards the new settlement.
Nuova Gibellina
1968 Belice Earthquake
New Town
The new town features a housing typology of single-family two story detached houses with a modern flat style. The town layout is based on the urban model of Anglo-Saxon garden city, departing from the organic layout of the old town. Each housing unit is isolated with a small green space, amplifying a sense of privacy rather than community gathering.
As the center and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily locates on the intersection of two plates, with a feature of frequent tectonic movements and active volcano - the Etna Mount. The geology of Sicily made it an unstable land for living.
Salemi
1968 Belice Earthquake
White Cement
The earth quake in 1968 hit bad on Salemi t he town was nearly destroyed. As a result, a majority of the population left the old town and moved to the lower part of the town and started a new life. On top pf the ruins, architects created an entirely new space that serves as a memorial of the old land.
Piazza Alicia
After the earthquake in 1968, the church was destroyed , and the ruins of the church was left onsite unrepaired. Throughout the years the ruins stood there as a silent memorial of the disaster. Until the 1990s, architects repurposed the ruins into a plaza, hosting meetings and performances. Although there is no actual reconstruction, the building was still brought back to life by the community function its serves.
Messina
1908 Messina Earthquake
Slums
After earthquake, the residents were displaced into temporary shacks. The government promised them new homes, but after 113 years, they are still waiting. The temporary slums were constructed with concrete, metal net and other cheap building materials, and now became their permanent homes.
Noto
1693 Sicily Earthquake
Ci Nicolo Church
Noto is one of the main damaged city during the 1693 earthquake. The reconstructions of the Nicolo Church symbolizes Noto’s resolve to exist and continue as a city. The reconstruction used traditional method to repair the church, as a continuation of the city’s pride and faith in traditional unadulterated stone masonry. Throughout the years, there were multiple earthquakes and all had significant impact on the church, and the stone structure was replaced again and again with little change in technology. Though a continuation cultural heritage, the reconstructions could also be seen as repetitions of failure without significant innovation or care taken to find a more appropriate solution.
New Housing Typology
White Cement
Nicolo Church
Old Housing Typology
Piazza Alicia
Slums
This project reimagines a fascist-era cinema in Marsala, Sicily, addressing its isolation and historical context while respecting its architectural and historical significance. Site analysis revealed critical challenges, including the building’s detachment from its surroundings, blocked access to adjacent Roman archaeological sites, and a height difference that limits physical and visual connection to the landscape.
Originally constructed as a tool for fascist propaganda, the cinema’s one-way spatial organization reinforced authoritarian communication. This project seeks to unmute Sicilian voices, preserving the structure while diminishing its fascist symbolism. Through landscape articulation and the introduction of screen interventions, the design softens the building’s oppressive presence while reconnecting it to the site and community.
The zigzag circulation invites visitors to traverse the site, offering an immersive journey framed by public events and the picturesque Roman ruins in the background. This approach transforms the once-isolated structure into an open and engaging civic space, fostering reflection, interaction, and a reimagines connection to Sicilian history and culture.
SITE PLAN*
Original cinema plan* Ground Floor Plan*
Physical Model*
Community Center For Local Cultural Performance Performance, Reflection, and Cultural revival One
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Main
Extreme Habitat
The Hane House
Year: 2022
Competition: Extreme Habitat
Program: Tiny Home
Location: Khuntan Peak, Mongolia
Team: Collaboration with Huilin Wu and Sansiri Saensopa (Drawings made with teammates will be marked with *) Plan, Section and diagrams: Rhino + Illustrator + Photoshop Renderings: Rhino + VRay + Photoshop
The Hane House, located at the Khuntan peak in Mongolia near the intersection of three countries, is a sanctuary for multicultural collaboration and personal challenges. At an altitude of 4,000 meters, it endures harsh cold and heavy snow conditions. Combining a traditional Mongolian yurt central fire system with a Roman bath heating mechanism, and supplemented by solar panels and a water collection system, the house is self-sufficient and resilient against extreme environments, offering a secure and sustainable refuge in a remote setting.
Food Studies
Project Pivot
Year: 2022
Studio: ARC208
Professor: Molly Hunker
Program: Community Center
Location: Vischers Ferry Dam, NY, USA
Team: Collaboration with Tianchonghui, Fang (Drawings made by Tianchonghui will be marked with *) Plan, Section and diagrams: Model Photo + Photoshop + 3D Scan Renderings: Physical Model + Photograph + Photoshop + Illustrator Model: Concrete with Molding on lettuce + Clay + Soil
The project is located along the Mohawk River, next to the Vischers Ferry Dam, NY. The special location provides the project a special oppertunity as a pivot of the main circulation of vehicle, boat, human and animal. The project is inspired and generated by the local food production chain and recent food movement. The project focuses on creating a gathering space for nearby neighborhoods, connecting local farmers with costumers, balancing resources across the river and advocating for a closer relationship between people and nature.
The project contains multiple food markets for local farmers to sell their goods, restaurants which support farm to table and foraging movements, a research lab and seed bank to preserve local ecology.
Two main circulation logic - the cross and the curve made the project accessible to humans, cars, and animals.
With a series of food experiments, an abstract spatial relationship was developed. With the food physical model-making process, a cabbage-derived form is developed, and the cabbage-like pattern on the ground leads rainwater to the central collecting pool for further reuse.
Section AA*
Physical Model*
Food Experiments*
Site Plan*
Ground Floor Plan*
Physical Model Photo*
Slash Works
My Brand
Year: 2024
Team: Ching-Hising Chan, Ivan Law, Jiwei Wang (Works done by teammates will be marked with *) Website: https://www.slash-works.com/ Instagram: slashworks
Slash Works is a design-driven brand that redefines the relationship between function and art. Our mission is to craft accessible, highquality furniture designs that elevate daily living while embodying artistic expression. We believe that art can be functional, and functionality can be artistic, making beauty and utility inseparable and accessible to all.
