I am a practicing designer who prefers to convey abstract concepts through interactive approaches. I enjoy illustrating spatial qualities in three dimensions by creating digital and physical models and drafting detailed spatial elements. My professional development at Pratt Institute has equipped me with the modeling and drafting skills to bring my innovative ideas to life. For me, designing a space is about researching and exploring the interactions between its users, the space itself, and its envelope. The close-up details people engage with, combined with the overall tone set by the architecture, significantly influence the user experience.
WRKBENCH
Built-in Workbench
New York Middle School Renovation
Pre-fabrication
A HOME FOR CHILDREN
Container Residence
New York Foster Home
Playful design
Conceptual Project
Revit Drawing
Digital Technique
Retail
New York Shrift Store
Movable boundary design
Furniture
CNC Milling
Multi-Use Design 6
Container Dwelling
A HOME FOR CHILDREN
Tools:
Hand Sketch, Physical Model, Rhino, Auto CAD, Vray
ABOUT FOSTER HOME
My project using stacked shipping containers four-high, will create a dynamic, playful supporting residence for twelve foster care children from newborn to eighteen years.
The goal was to give these children a place of pride and beauty, with a roof garden, play areas and library, and to have a lively presence in any community that it joins. The design of operations and form of the housing also address to make the house feel more interesting, attractive and playful for the children.
CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES
I start to imagine some details of the space. A greenhouse, a playground, round windows and even the baseboard are all specially customized for the children. To make the children have a sense of responsibility for their and other’s lives, I decided to design a roof greenhouse for them. When they feel they are needed by other lifes, children will have the sense of importance of lives.
COLOR
Detailed color sketches to help myself further understand the finishes, construction and detailing of the space.
MODELS
There is more freedom with the form of the container house and the design with operations. I was focused more on how to design the house to feel more interested, attractive and playful for the children. So I start with placing the container in more Lego form, Having large openings at both the upper and lower part of the building. To create two stories opening for the garden and open area for kids to play.
There is an office on the left side and the childrens play playground will be on the right side. The large steps in the playground for the kids to climb and sit also has a small camouflage space at the bottom for storing the toys. It is also a hidden space for those children who want to stay in to feel safer. The windows will build around the playground and the door on the first floor can be fully opened to connect to the exterior environment.
SECOND FLOOR
The smaller room will be the library and teaching space. The larger room will be the dining area and kitchen. There is also a foyer for children to store their clothes and stuff. The bay windows are built in between the bookshelves. The dinning space will be placed on the side of the round window to frame views of the exterior. There will also be additional stairs directly connected to the roof greenhouse.
THIRD FLOOR
Third floor are bedrooms for children. One room will have larger beds for older children and the other will be smaller bunkbed for younger children. Both will have a full view of the green house. The bunk beds have smaller windows in between and a small night light above each bedding space. The steps of the bunk bed will be designed as the storage space for placing childrens stuff.
FOURTH FLOOR
The top floor will be the nursing room and also connected to the roof greenhouse. The staff bedroom is combined with a nursing room on this floor. This floor has the similar window design that the smaller windows will be placed between each bed.
A PINK VILLA
Tools:
Revit, Photoshop, Illustrator
This is a conceptual project getting inspired by the drawings of False Mirror Office.
As stated on their website, “False Mirror Office misrepresents architecture.” The False Mirror Office showcases a diverse range of collage techniques and employs a vibrant array of colors in their drawings. They present their designs in a non-traditional manner.
In each drawing, I utilize different colors, textures, linework, and entourage. By skillfully adjust the tone and apply filters to create a harmonious overall image. While the perspective rendering collages aren’t intended to be realistic, they excel in conveying maximum atmospheric feelings. The composition of images and the selection of elements in the drawings is meticulously chosen to evoke specific emotions in the audience. The deliberate variation in textures and linework enriches the entire project, while a unified color scheme prevents confusion among viewers.
Different axon representations to show the design intentions and structural details.
Working Progress Rendered Interior View
Working Progress
Working Progress
AN OFFICE
Tools:
Rhino, Auto CAD, Vray, Photoshop, Illustrator
We have three clients, each representing a unique design company engaged in diverse fields and media. The nature of their work necessitates a team of exceptionally talented individuals to foster creativity. Given the diverse requirements, it is important to provide our clients diverse modes of work for their varied employees. In this post-pandemic era, as interior designers, we must explore innovative ways to offer diverse working experiences, enticing people back to the office.
This project focuses on reimagining the post-pandemic working environment, contemplating strategies to encourage the return to the office and enhance the overall work atmosphere by breaking away from traditional cubic modes. It involves recognizing individual preferences, offering diverse working experiences, and taking into account varying levels of privacy. The goal is to design better third places that cater to the evolving needs of the workforce.
PRELIMINARY SKETCHES
We have three clients, each representing a unique design company engaged in diverse fields and media. The nature of their work necessitates a team of exceptionally talented individuals to foster creativity. Given the diverse requirements, it is important to provide our clients diverse modes of work for their varied employees. In this post-pandemic era, as interior designers, we must explore innovative ways to offer diverse working experiences, enticing people back to the office.
The space is basically separating into 4 zones, the entrance, social hub, office, and openwork pace alongside the window.
This project focuses on reimagining the post-pandemic working environment, contemplating strategies to encourage the return to the office and enhance the overall work atmosphere by breaking away from traditional cubic modes. It involves recognizing individual preferences, offering diverse working experiences, and taking into account varying levels of privacy.
SOCIAL HUB
The central social space included a pantry space, conference rooms and a library.
There is an exhibition wall on the back of the space and built in banquette seating on both sides of the pantry cave.
There are two types of conference rooms, one is more enclosed and more closed provides privacy. The other is more like a semi-office space which has a drop ceiling that is not fully closed up.
There are two well-being space on both sides of the library.
Banquette Pantry
Banquette
Individual offices including four types of layout. Each fullfilled diifferent needs for people who have different working habits.
There are also two small zones locate at the back of office type A, where the employees can get in and seat in the booth to work privately.
Lighting Plan
Office B
Office C
Office D
Office A Office B
Open Work Space
An open work space alongside the window including open work stations and private individual work spaces. In this space, the goal is to provide more options for people who want to work in different styles. There are different seating height, seating tyle, private or group working area. Including traditional and hoteling working spaces.
Open Work Space
Individual work space
Work Stations
Individual work space
Private Working/Meeting Booth
pre-fabriCation StuDio
WRKBENCH
ToolS:
Rhino, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator
Working a s group, students will design and fabricate a classroom system to be installed in one classroom at Harbor Middle School.
Utilizing Interior Systems Theory and the strategies of rotation and expansion the WRKbench provides functional place for Harbor Middle School Students to design and fabricate STEAM projects.
Project Team Members (alphabetical equence):
Raghav Aggarwal
Abdullah Alenzi
Jiamin Ao
Marija Galic
Xinxiao Hui
Fay Ran
Yutong Ren
Tong Zhao
Yizhen Zhu
Professor Deborah Schneiderman
EXPLODED AXON
The workbenches were prefabricated at Pratt Institute’s CNC workshop, then transported to Harbor Middle School in Brooklyn and assembled on-site.
AXON AND DETAIL IMAGES
The WRKbench incorporates various thoughtful details to enhance students’ working efficiency. Hooks on the side panels double as pin-up boards, allowing students to display their drawings. Each side of the workbench features 24-inch sliding side tables for additional workspace. The pegboard is designed to hold customized felt tool bags or standard shelves, providing versatile storage options.
DRAWINGS
A THRIFT STORE
Tools:
Rhino, AutoCAD, Physical Modeling
The goal of this project is to design a four story retail space for New York thrift Shops.
The thrift store will be efficient instead of luxury retail space, and this is going to be a place containing different products. The main feature in the space is the stairs, which are designed to be transformable boundaries. These movable boundaries can adjust the space into different sizes to fit the unpredicted amount of brands and secondhand goods in the store. It connects the entire space both vertically and horizontally.
FRAMING AND DIVISION
The thrift store will be efficient instead of luxury retail space, and this is going to be a place containing different products. The main feature in the space is the stairs, which are designed to be transformable boundaries. These movable boundaries can adjust the space into different sizes to fit the unpredicted amount of brands and secondhand goods in the store. It connects the entire space both vertically and horizontally.
HASHBROWN CANYON
Tools:
Rhino, Photoshop, CNC Milling
Crafted in a whimsical collage style, this innovative chair embodies playful functionality. Its form, inspired by puzzle toys, boasts irregular yet smooth curves that invite touch and exploration. More than just seating, it seamlessly integrates into the act of play itself, doubling as a table when needed.
Translating abstract composition and vibrant color palettes into a tangible experience, the chair’s back transforms into a dynamic car track upon placement. This imaginative feature not only sparks joy but also encourages interaction, as toy cars zoom through the canyon-like landscape. Ultimately, it’s designed to evoke a sense of playfulness and delight, inviting people of all ages to rediscover the joy of play through furniture.
The chair’s backrest consists of several distinct parts, connected by triangular, circular, and square elements, along with a few butterfly key joints. The front and back of the chair are intentionally designed to differ. From the front, the parts fit together seamlessly, creating a unified appearance. However, from the back, there is a noticeable gap in the middle, forming a channel that has been named the “canyon.”
CHAIR COMPONENTS
The chair is composed of four main parts: the backrest, the seat, and two legs. Each of these parts is made by gluing together a front and back piece, ensuring that both sides have a trimmed edge after the CNC milling process and achieve the proper thickness. The right page shows the fabrication process, including CNC milling, gluing, and sanding.
THE “CANYON”
When the chair stands upright, it functions as a seat. When placed on its side, the back of the backrest transforms into a table, revealing the ‘canyon’ track, where a toy car can pass through.
ATLANTIC AVE CAFE
Tools:
Revit, Photoshop, Shetch, CNC Milling, 3D Printing, Model making
This project is for a café located on the first and second floors of a three-story brownstone on Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. The scope includes comprehensive construction documentation, ranging from construction plans to detailed millwork. The process employed various methods, including CNC milling, 3D printing, modeling, and sketching, with the primary documentation created in Revit. The design aims to create a relaxing environment where customers can enjoy their time within the space.
LEVEL 01 Stairs
“The staircase features two straight runs with open risers and a mono stringer. A CNC-milled model panel was created to test the concept of integrated step lighting for the stairs.
LEVEL 01 Bar and Back Bar
Level 01 -Bar and Back Bar Plan
The bar and back bar are designed with various cabinetry spaces and different lighting fixtures to provide ample illumination and create a more engaging atmosphere. The layout allows sufficient space between the bar and back bar for the bartender to move and work comfortably.
1/2" = 1'-0"
LEVEL 01 Bar and Back Bar
The bar features a glass block front, with a light strip embedded behind the blocks to softly illuminate the area. The back bar is designed with open shelving for displaying items and tools. All bar tops are covered with plastic laminate, ensuring the stations are durable and easy to repair or replace.
1/2" = 1'-0" 4 Millwork Bar Section 2
Milwork
1/2" = 1'-0"
A-301 BUILDING SECTION
LEVEL 02 Banquette
The banquette seating on the second floor features a designed front face with pink laminate panels in an arch shape. Each arch includes integrated lighting that enhances the café’s overall atmosphere and illuminates the space.
Sketch
3
3D Printing Model
Front Elevation Section
Axon
LABORATORY OF FUN 8
Tools:
Rhino3D, Photoshop, Illustrator, Shetch, 3D Printing, Model making
“Space had become neutral, a backdrop for the smaller designed objects that began to dominate our lives” (p12)
– Frank Jacobus, “Toward the Immaterial Interior”, 2018
Overview of Laboratory of Fun:
Objects are not static; they evolve in meaning through human interaction, transforming from possessions into carriers of memory, identity, and cultural significance. Interior design can function as a “laboratory of fun”—a space that invites playful and creative interactions with objects. Through spatial design, movement, and display, interiors can reshape how people engage with objects, encouraging reinterpretation, emotional connection, and sensory exploration. By framing objects as active participants rather than passive elements, interior design fosters revaluation of objects and their relationships with people.
For the full research paper, please see link below: https://issuu.com/xinxiao-alice-hui
“LABORATORY OF FUN”
Cedric Price’s Fun Palace was often described as a “Laboratory of Fun,” designed to promote community engagement and cultural participation. Inspired by this concept, this project reimagines that spirit by creating a space that encourages dynamic interactions between people and discarded objects. While echoing Price’s approach, the focus here shifts toward redefining the relationship between individuals and abandoned belongings. In this context, the thesis becomes its own “Laboratory of
Fun”—a space that fosters playful and meaningful engagement with the inanimate objects of everyday life.
Cellar Floor
1st Floor
Mezzanine Floor
2nd Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor
AXON AND PERSPECTIVE
The plans illustrate the program layout: the workshop is positioned at the back, the central zone is dedicated to exhibition space and vertical circulation, and the front façade incorporates both a shop and an exhibition area. The axonometric diagrams on the right provide detailed views of each program
INTERATIVE PROTOTYPES
To further explore how space can emphasize objects and shape interactions, the project includes interactive prototypes that engage both humans and objects—experimenting with ways to invite users into spatial and material experiences. The diagram on the right illustrates a variety of mechanisms within the Laboratory of Fun, each designed to enhance the interactivity between people and objects.
NEW OBJECTS
The following are newly created objects produced within the Object Hospital’s Operating Department.
