https://linktr.ee/rkyhuang
he/him rkyhuang03@gmail.com 647-856-3756 Vancouver, BC, Canada
RICKY HUANG
PORTFOLIO
I. Introduction
Positionality Statement
My experiences and background are inseparable from who I am and the work I do. They influence the way I see the built environment, inform my design values, and shape how I approach design and life in general. For these reasons, I believe it is critically important for me to begin by identifying my positionality.
Why positioning identity matters in decolonising research and knowledge production: How to write a ‘positionality statement’ By Sarah Homan
I am a Canadian-born Chinese, gay cis man who was born and raised as an uninvited settler in socalled Mississauga, Ontario, on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations.
I recognize certain privileges in my upbringing - financial security, supportive parents, and access to quality education and extracurricular activities. While English is my first language and I feel assimilated to Western culture, I also retain basic Mandarin proficiency and cultural connections to my heritage.
Growing up in a racially and culturally diverse neighbourhood has shaped my understanding of the
world. My experiences as simultaneously a person of privilege and as a queer POC in well-funded schools and a fortunate home has made me deeply aware of inequity, particularly in the built environment.
Considering my positionality has taught me that the most impactful design solutions emerge through a critical understanding of our own perspectives while engaging with other diverse views and experiences.
I wholeheartedly believe in design’s ability to change the world for the better, but only when we acknowledge and thoughtfully consider how our personal experiences, biases, and privileges influence our creative decisions, something that I hope is evident throughout my work.
Resume
Ricky Huang
Highly independent and open-minded multi-disciplinary designer with a passion for trying new things. Proven ability to work effectively in diverse teams. Quick and eager learner adept at using past experience and skills to contribute towards new challenges.
Education Skills
Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urbanism
University of British Columbia - Graduation: May 2025
• Mastered architectural, landscape, and urban design principles, integrating historical/theoretical knowledge with policy and planning frameworks.
• Developed iterative design thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative skills through studio projects, critiques, and client/public consultations.
• Perfected visual/verbal communication via drafting, graphic presentations, and defending projects under tight deadlines to diverse audiences.
Ontario Secondary School Diploma
John Fraser Secondary School - 2021
Experience
Design Manager | 06/2020 - 06/2021
John Fraser Student Activity Council
• Led social media strategy and content creation (posters, videos) to boost student engagement, collaborating with the Communications Manager.
• Directed a creative team, delegating tasks and mentoring members in design processes for cohesive promotional campaigns.
• Partnered with council executives to align design initiatives with event planning, fostering teamwork and enthusiasm.
Community Outreach Liaison | 06/2019 - 06/2020
John Fraser Student Activity Council
• Designed and delivered leadership workshops for students, using interactive activities to model teamwork and inspire community engagement.
• Trained and coordinated a council team to execute events, managing logistics and stakeholder communication for seamless operations.
• Cultivated partnerships with school district organizations to align initiatives and amplify collaborative outreach efforts.
Volunteer Teaching Assistant | 09/2015 - 05/2019
Streetsville Meadowvale Figure Skating Club
• Assisted various coaches in running skating classes, providing hands-on instruction and support to children
• Communicated with parents, discussing children’s progress, addressing questions, and fostering a positive learning environment
• Facilitated setup, cleanup, warm-up, and cool-down exercises, ensuring a safe and organized environment for the classes
Design Process & Critical Thinking
Iterative prototyping, problem-solving, and rapid ideation through sketching, modeling, and peer critiques.
Technical Communication & Visualization
Proficient in hand drafting, CAD, 3D modeling, and graphic storytelling for compelling client/stakeholder presentations.
Collaborative Leadership
Cultivating inclusive team dynamics through conflict resolution, delegation, and leadership to build positive, work environments.
Adaptive Problem-Solving
Balancing creative exploration with deadline-driven execution, adapting to evolving project needs.
Cross-Disciplinary Design Knowledge
Grounded in architecture, landscape, and urbanism principles, with sensitivity to cultural and ecological contexts.
Software
• Illustrator
• Photoshop
• InDesign
• Lightroom
• Rhinoceros 3D
• AutoCAD
• Revit
II. Architecture & Design
It’s probably impossible to sum up everything I’ve learned from my four years in the BDes program, but I can try anyways!
Studying design and architecture has taught me:
• Try things just because “why not?“
• Don’t get hung up on the details (but also don’t overlook the details)
• There’s no such thing as designing for everyone
• Question everything?
I remember for our very orientation design exercise we were tasked with designing a headpiece. After double-checking I was in the right class, I began to design a flower crown, questioning how this would help me make a building. Four years later, I now know it never really mattered what I was designing - not as much as the designing itself.
My first design project for DES101 - Introductory Workshop
Energy on Stage
December 2024 / Academic Project
Design Studio V
With: Lily Reid
Directed by:
Cedric Jacques Yu
Mari Fujita
As densification transforms UBC’s University Endowment Lands, our project reimagines energy infrastructure as a tool for education and resilience. The District Energy Education Hub is a hybrid facility blending neighbourhood energy systems with interactive exhibits.
Visitors explore sustainability at urban, residential, and personal scales, while the building’s design allows visibility of infrastructure and forest throughout.
The Hub connects to a network of energy amenities - heated bus stops, illuminated park paths - embed into the neighbourhood, encouraging res-
idents to see and understand where their energy comes from. This project imagines cities so that the mechanisms that power our homes and everyday lives aren’t just an afterthought to be hidden away, but instead a feature of our built environment.
Context Plan District Energy
Model of District Energy Education Hub with surrounding neighbourhood and Pacific Spirit Park
By exposing the hidden systems that sustain to see, touch, and rethink their
sustain our cities, we can invite communities their relationship with power.
The intersections of our daily paths with our neighbours’ are where communities blossoms.
Crossroads
December 2023 / Academic Project Design Studio III
With: Maryam Abdal
Directed by: Mari Fujita Tania Gutiérrez-Monroy
In this housing studio project, we were challenged to address the Missing Middle housing problem in Vancouver and design a multiplex that increased density and included a commercial space. Our design creates a small neighbouhood hub that promotes daily, organic social en-
counters. By colocating a daycare, community garden, bakery, and a plaza in our multiplex design, we can intentionally mix up circulation routes of various kinds of residents in the hopes at sparking community connections.
Models of Buildings: Brown materials represent existing context, white represents design intervention.
South
Greetings From Gastown / Collecting Community
March 2024 / Academic Project Design Studio IV
With: Maryam Abdal
Directed by: Tatiana Nozaki Lys Divine Ndemeye
This two-part project confronts the dissonance between Gastown’s tourist-centric identity and its marginalized residents. Greetings from Gastown! reveals the neighborhood’s commodified history
- where patterns of colonial narratives and economic agendas overshadowing local needs results in a lack of essential services amid souvenir shops and aestheticized nostalgia.
These red brick pavers were installed in the 1970s in an attempt to “beautify“ Gastown.
Map of Gastown’s Resident vs. Visitor Oriented Businesses
Collecting Community responds to these conditions with a design intervention that prioritizes space for residents. Features include rainwater fed community gardens, public washrooms, and flexible gathering spaces, shifting focus to resident well-being.
The project seeks to foster resident agency and access to greenery, reclaiming space for locals in a neighbourhood long shaped by profit-driven urbanism.
Section of Rainwater Collector
Section of Public Washroom
Section of Rain Garden
III. Photography
San José, Costa Rica. December, 2023.
Photography, to me, is often about capturing and remembering moments and people in my life. But it’s also a journey of searching for beauty everywhere I go. Since my interest in photography first bloomed, I’ve noticed I am much more perceptive of the world around me. These days, I almost never leave home without a camera.
For me, being a photographer is a way to remind myself to look for beauty every day of my life. It’s a way for me to share what I find with others. Each frame is an opportunity to tell a story or reveal hidden patterns. Through photography, I hope to remind both myself and the world to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.
Home
The landscapes of our home planet has always been my favourite subject. When I first started playing with my dad’s camera on a family trip in 2016, I fell in love with capturing the Earth’s beauty.
Photography is my act of care, love, and reverance for the world that I live in and belong to. Through my lens, I hope to express my gratitude for these places that offer us life and home.
Sentinel Pass, Canada. August, 2024.
Antelope Canyon, USA. July, 2016.
Takakkaw Falls, Canada. August, 2024
Garibaldi Provincial Park, Canada. August, 2024.
Banff, Canada. August, 2024.
Oakville, Canada. July, 2020.
Fingerprints
After studying architecture and design for four years, it’s hard not to find as much beauty in our built environment as the natural one. Everywhere I look, I can see the intention, the thought, and the time that designers put into shaping our world into how we know it today.
Yet in my everyday life it becomes easy to take good design for granted. Taking time out of my day to notice and document the fingerprints of designers helps me appreciate the time and effort they put into making the world a better (and prettier) place.
Seattle, USA. November, 2024.
San José, Costa Rica. December, 2023.
Mexico City, Mexico. December, 2024.
Willemstad, Curaçao. December, 2022.
Seattle, USA. June, 2024.
Sunshine Coast, Canada. February, 2025.
Stories
It was only recently when I started to really recognize the influence of stories on my life. When I look back on my childhood now, it’s glaringly obvious how obssessed I was with storytelling - staying up late into the night to read Percy Jackson, rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender ten times. Even now, I am rediscovering storytelling through a new-
found appreciation for film, which has led me to discovering photography as yet another manifestation of my passion for stories.
Can you guess which films inspired these shots and their colour grading?
Deep Cove, Canada. May, 2024.
IV. Art & Illustration
Angel Refuge
November 2021 / Academic Project
Acrylic Paint on Paper
80cm x 60cm
Art is a deeply personal subject for me. Out of all the hobbies, sports, and vague interests I’ve had throughout my lifetime, art has always been the most consistent and pervasive. Since my first art class when I was 6 years old, art seems to be everywhere in my life. Art class and art teachers were my favourites throughout grade school, art galleries were my favourite trips, art helped me decide to serve as Design Manager
for my school council, art was a big inspiration for me getting into photography, and art led me to apply to UBC’s SALA. Even though I told myself I’d like to keep art as a hobby separate from a career, I’ve realized it is impossible to keep art out of life. Although I haven’t had the same level of free time I used to in high school, I’d really love to get back into creating art just for the sake of art, and nothing else.
Gong-Gong
September 2019 / Personal Project
Graphite Pencils on Paper 26cm x 38cm
A portrait of my maternal grandfather, who I grew up with. He loves going on evening walks.
December 2019 / Personal Project
Graphite Pencils on Paper
43cm x 38cm
Painters
November 2020 / Personal Project
Acrylic Paint on Canvas 40cm x 51cm
Suzhou Gardens
March 2024 / Personal + Academic Project
Chinese Ink on Rice Paper 30cm x 46cm (3)
A series of paintings I did to supplement a research project for my Histories in Landscape Architecture course. I used this as an opportunity to try learning traditional Chinese Landscape painting techniques.
