Skills
Software
Rhino (Grasshopper)
Sketch up
Archicad
V-ray
Enscape
Lumion
Auto Cad
Adobe Suite
ArcGis
Cyclone
Microsoft Office
Art & Craft
Sketch
Watercolor
Woodcut
Calligraphy
Model Making
Woodworking
Xifeng Xi
E-mail: xiwind.xi@hotmail.com
Phone: +46 0734954490 / +86 13922300767
Address: Else Alfelts Vej 72d, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark
Experience
SAGA Space Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
Architecture Intern, full time 02/2025 - 06/2025 (expected)
- FLEXHab (human habitat): Contributed to the construction and on-site mockup assembly.
- Eco Discovery Park Villa & Townhouse in Haiphong, Vietnam (residential complex): Developed landscape and spatial design proposals; Conducted daylight simulations to inform and evaluate the spatial quality of the residential building design.
Institute of Architecture & Cultural Heritage of SCUT Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
Architecture Intern, full time 07/2021 - 12/2021
- Surveyed and documented Haifeng Confucian Temple; proposed key preservation strategies.
- Analyzed Jieyang Arcade-house Street; categorized façade elements.
- Designed Kui Guang Tower Attic; produced models, renderings, and video.
- Conducted point cloud surveys; contributed to heritage assessment reports.
Reality Studio, Pretoria, South Africa
Architect, full time 04/2024 - 05/2024
- Conducted fieldwork in Melusi Informal Settlement; co-designed and co-built with the local community. Implemented spatial interventions for Melusi Youth Development Organization.
Education
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
Architecture and Urban Design, Msc Progr 09/2023 - 06/2026 (expected)
EPFL, Switzerland Exchange Student in Architecture 09/2024 - 02/2025
South China University of Technology, China
Bachelor of Architecture
• Green Building Specialization Certificate The Excellent Graduate 2022
Tianjin University, China Exchange Student in Architecture 09/2019 - 02/2020
Activities
Office Assistant, Architecture Department of SCUT, 2021
Event Volunteer, 2018 China Architecture Annual Conference
1. Derivation of the Wall
2. Columns without Boundary
3. The Hill for Prosumers
4. Living Bathroom
Building Identity by Co-building Spaces
5. A Tale of Capturing Flying
01 Derivation of the Wall
Folk Music Workshop
Turpan, Xinjiang, China
Academic project
Independent work
Time: 03.2020 - 08.2020
Tutor: Lu Yao
Tuyugou Mazha Village is one of the oldest villages in Xinjiang and one of the birthplaces of folk music. The project is a workshop for musical instrument craftsmen, apprentices and tourists.
The design focuses on the local people's connection to the unique landscape and materializes this connection. The concept of "thickness" is extracted and used for shaping perceptional and functional spaces.
An ancient Uighur village located in the south exit valley of the Grand Canyon. It has a history of more than 1700 years and is the oldest Uighur village in Xinjiang. This village completely retains the ancient Uighur tradition and folk customs.
Maza Village Turpan, Xinjiang, China
The Landscape around Mazha Village in Tuyoq Valley
1. Plantable Roof
2. Musician Office 3. Teaching Area 4. Performance Area 5. Resting Room 6. Lobby
7. Music Hall
8. Resting Room
9. Gallery
Fig. up - A - A Section.
Fig. bottom - View form resting room towards gallery.
Thickness for Feeling
The
Musician Office - Restroom
Musician Office - Reception Room
Continuous Axons
B:
02 Columns without Boundary
Participatory Memorial Park
Baghdad, Iraq
Competition project
Independent work
Time: 04.2021 - 07.2021
Informal monuments are more needed by cities. The informal characteristics enable more people to participate and reduce the sense of nobility caused by the selfpreservation mentality. In commemorative architecture, Edmund Burke emphasized the importance of human perception and social participation in his exploration of the sublime and the beautiful.
The project takes Baghdad, which was broken physically and spiritually under the war, as a design testboard. The designer created a transition space by extending the
Upward perspective.
Assambled upward-view axonometrics.
The Pillars and Perception
“ Hold up a strait pole, with your eye to one end, it will extend to a length almost incredible."
" For in a rotund, whether it be a building or a plantation, you can no where fix a boundary; the same object still seems to continue, and the imagination has no rest."
" Whenever we repeat any idea frequently, the mind by a sort of mechanism repeats it long after the first cause has ceased to operate."
RIVER
Dar AL Wali
AL Shray Plaza
Unfolded Axo Drawing
When people continue to walk along the wall, they will enter an uninterrupted special space and time, where the transition of light and shadow shape the feelings of quiet and exciting. This group of Spaces is a symbol of remembrance.
Layers of framed scenes create a montage effect and walk along the line of sight, turning the lives of citizens into quiet fragments in this monumental set.
When people exit or turn around from the memorial cloisters, they can see different activities daub on the walls like paintings. It is a beautiful scene brought about by living in the moment.
The columns arranged in different densities and rhythms make the scene flat, and the sublime and commemorative feeling brought by perspective disappear, and the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere dominates the space.
Walking along the wall
Time warps
Facing the wall
Picture of Life
03 The Hill for Prosumers
Shanwei Theatre
Shanwei, Guangdong, China
Graduation Design (Distinction top15%)
Cooperated with Yunjie liu
Time: 01.2022 - 06.2022
Tutor: Jianhe Luo, Wenyi Jiang
The project was to design a theatre in Shanwei, a typical China's developing city carrying the issue of monotonous lifestyle due to limited financial resources. Lacking of stable financial support to run in long-term, public cultural projects in such type of city often fail to achieve their inital goal of enhancing urban vitality.
We considered Prosumer, a combination of productor and consumer, a role to deal with the problem, with the coming of the third wave where the society is becoming demassified and the prosumers are emerging. Based on our research, we made the different functions of the theatre more independent, producing additional economic benefit. The theatre can be seen as a organism consisted of multiple selfrun units which contributes to the long-term self-operation of the theater as a whole.
Workload:
site survey(50%), concept(60%), project planning(70%), formal strategy&design(50%), fire design and construction equipment(40%), modeling(50%), drawing on this portfolio(90%)
the performing place is too traditional or too formal
need the attention of more young people want to perform in a easy and open area for locals
few in small cities few public places for them in small cities
the main type of potentical prosumer need multifunctional places to perform towards Different numbers of people
Western troupe
leader non-resident in most Chinese theatres
Keeping the theater open is a huge drain on government money
But really need an opportunity to promote the city, to attract investment, to attract people.
The construction of the theater has both advantages and disadvantages
work areas are usually far away from supermarkets and restaurants and boring
want a better working environment, want to interact with peoplelot because of many free time
need a professional rehearsal space need feedback from the audience
Lack of cultural and recreational activities
want a place with convenient transportation and low cost
shops that accompanies theatre is difficult to run because of no audiences in most time
need more consumers
Staff in the theatre
hard to get troupes to perform in Remote cities
hope to cultivate own troupe hope to attract new types of small troupes to perform regularly
hope that local drama troupe can use the theatre
worry about prospects of projects in small cities
need to make sure the city is vibrant enough to support the project's futureHope the project has the possibility of long-term operation
Nine groups of people are analyzed, including the main decision-makers and users in theater construction, performers and theater staff. Their current situation is symptomatic of the difficulties of operating theaters in China's smaller cities. But with the third wave, they could become potential prosumers.
Sunken
The interface on the west side of the theatre consists of a continuous undulating semi-open platform. The staggered floors form a rich spatial hierarchy, where the interior and exterior connect with the forms and line of sight. The two entrances to the theatre lobby are toned down, as all the platforms are focused on urban activities.
The eastern interface consists of a set of longitudinal spaces, which is the "threshold garden" of the theatre. The narrowing of the space makes the far mountains on the west side more impactful. The horizontal corridors handle the circulation of public areas, logistics areas and vip guests, allowing different users of the theater to interact at a moment's time.
The undulating platform in the setting sun
Stacked paths in interstice garden
Why not go to the cafe? want play that!
Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
sed moluptia quoditat dolore,
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Good place for camping! Good place for camping!
dolore,
cone rehent. Ut accae
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
I was born In
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
sed moluptia quoditat
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Let's start rehearsing the new program!
moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
sed moluptia quoditat
People are involved in the operations of the theatre and meet their needs. We made the different functions of the theatre more independent and planned the circulation to make different functional rooms open to the public as much as possible, producing additional economic benefit. We have also designed different stages in combination with the height difference. These fragmented functional spaces and platforms form the east and west sides of the theatre. I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Kharkiv in 1997
Street
Gent,
parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
sed moluptia quoditat dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai
sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai sed moluptia quoditat
Gent, cone rehent. Ut accae parcipsa dolore,
I was born In Kharkiv in 1997
Street Avanue 666, Kodambakkam,Chennai sed moluptia quoditat
cone rehent.
accae parcipsa dolore,
Hurry up, the show is about to begin. Look! What a beautiful mountain!
04 Living Bathroom
Collective House
Gothenburg, Sweden
Academic Project
Cooperated with Julia Johansson
(The drawings made by Julia are marked)
Time: 11.2023 - 01.2024
Faculty: Daniel Norell, Sara Olsson, Peter Christensson
Inside buildings, people control water through technology to achieve a more efficient metabolism. The context full of the stories and possibilities of water was hidden by the buildings. One loses the happiness that water could bring.
As a way of responding to that, we would like to investigate what it would mean to celebrate the watery space, or more precisely what it would mean to celebrate the bathroom and its components and functions. An underlying question is whether the role of the bathroom could change to support social interaction which is a key term for collective housing.
Concept model. Perspective. Drawing made by Julia.
Project Concept and Formulation
We would like to create a water-centered narative during the building design, to celebrate the water in the building and its related infrastructure and rooms. The role that is emphasised in the drawing is not that of load-bearing structures and dividing walls, but that of the path of the water element and the space in which water is used. The water passes through the pipes and overflows from the sanitary fittings and then gradually fills the entire building space.
Scenarios
We start by designing the bathroom, or more precisely, we design scenarios in which people use different sanitary ware, and imagine how these sanitary ware can bring a good living experience to people, and how they can facilitate communication. These scenarios return to focus on the emotional connection between people and water, between people and people. This interaction with water is the same as when humans settled by the river, only this time, the scenes are scaled down and put into the interior of the building.
Scenarios drawings made by Julia
Water War
Conversations on the WC2
Showering Dogs
Kids Playing in the Bathtub
Laundry Room Wine Night
Teeth-brushing in Bed
Book-reading in Bathtub
Potty Training
Watering Plants in the Shower
Working Model - Flowing Furniture and Fixed Toilet
The conceptual model has chosen the most radical toilet as a case to explore how people can break away from the traditional model of living space to explore how to set up their new home around water. People can adjust the number and position of furniture and plants to achieve different levels of privacy.
Furniture
Toilet
Plans 1:100
In plan design, we try to make Scenarios happen. On the groundfloor floor, we designed a threshold space that connects the street to the inner courtyard. At the threshold space there is a hand washing sink and a water pipe, making water used as a shared resource.
The plan shows the lines of sight of people as they move around the watery spaces. The sight lines continue to extend and intersect with the building surface, determining the composition of the facade.
Moveable furniture is emphasised as people can explore their preferred space.
Illastrating:
The positions of the sanitary fittings and their loose boundries; The supply and sewage pipes of the sanitary fittings and the main pipes linked to them; The eye sight lines of users of the sanitaty fittings and the windows generated with them making the inside stories articulate on the facades. Composite Drawing
Front Elevation 1:125
The facade of buildings often becomes an aid in hiding stories. In the specific context of Skeppsbron, the hidden stories are tightly linked to water. For the new collective house design, we deconstructed the functions of bathrooms, expand the boundaries of the watery space, explore the possibilities of water for people inside the building and show these on the facade as a response to the context, as a contrast to the context.
05 A Tale of Capturing Flying
Bamboo Pavilion
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Construction project
Team work
Time: 09.2018 - 01.2019
Tutor: Guanqiu Zhong, Lu Xiong
The project is located in a lawn of Nansha Waterbird Paradise in Guangzhou. The design concept is to express the poetry of water birds in flight. We explore the logic of generating straight curved surfaces, and consider the posture that architecture can present from the human point of view.
We studied the different textures of bamboo and analyzed how to process the bamboo to secure the connection. The project won the second prize in the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area Construction Competition.
Workload: concept(15%), design(15%), modeling(50%), node design(25%), construction(15%), drawings in this portfolio(90%)
The observer in motion
The portraits of the object
Hanging Scroll
Hanging Scroll Model 1: 20
Project Photo - Taken by Jianyi Tan
Project Photo - Taken by Jianyi Tan
Bake to bend the bamboo to the curvature designed
Set up the trusses of the frame and hold it temporarily with bamboo poles
Use a nail gun to install bamboo strips according to the marks
A wire tie is used to reinforce the connection
Cutting off the extra bolts
Polishing bamboo joint
Twine is used for external protection
Bamboo is painted to protect against moisture, and this process should be done regularly
Assemble individual bamboo pieces according to 1:1 drawings
Because of the individual differences of bamboo, each node needs to be discussed and labeled 1 BAKING 3 SUBJECT CONSTRUCTION
5 NAIL BAMBOO STRIP
06 Building Identity by
Co-building Spaces
Place Upgrading - on the Melusi Youth Development Organization
Melusi Informal Settlement, Pretoria, South Africa
Academic Project Team Work
Cooperated with Karolina Ekdahl, Tove Källander and Guiling Xiao
(The drawings made by other teammembers are marked)
Time: 03.2024 - 06.2024
Faculty: Shea Hagy, Jessica Lundin, Liane Thuvander, Lina Zachrisson, Jason Oberholster
Cooperation: Melusi Community Hub
Melusi Youth Development Organization(MYDO) University of Pretoria
This project focuses on how bottom-up and participatory design, coupled with qualitative data collection, can foster community-building architectural processes. The process involved understanding the context, collecting data through workshops, interviews, and observations, reflecting needs back to stakeholders, and co-designing solutions.
Collaboration with local stakeholders led to on-site interventions utilizing community skills and resources whilst promoting sustainable bottom-up solutions. Engaging with the community and stakeholders to understand, map, and address needs can facilitate effective, intentional interventions and encourage future community-led initiatives.
Pretoria, South Africa.
"A Break during Construction Days", Photograph taken by Guiling
Stakeholder Analysis
theory & background
Stakeholder maps are a tool for visualizing the identified key actors in a project context and what their relationships are. The horizontal axis of the chart below represents the degree to which stakeholders are connected to the project, and the vertical axis represents the relative strength of the stakeholders’ voice in the context. Both are based on subjective measures.
data collection & interpretation
Interview with the founder of MYDO( Melusi Youth Development Center)
theory & background
2.6 stakeholder analysis
2.6 stakeholder analysis
A diagonal axis emerged and shows the target groups of the project: children as a vulnerable group, being a main focus of the project.
Stakeholder maps are a tool for visualizing the identified key actors in a project context and what their relationships are (Hanington & Martin, 2012). The horizontal axis of the chart below represents the degree to which stakeholders are connected to the project, and the vertical axis represents the relative strength of the stakeholders’ voice in the context. Both are based on subjective measures.
Stakeholder maps are a tool for visualizing the identified key actors in a project context and what their relationships are (Hanington & Martin, 2012). The horizontal axis of the chart below represents the degree to which stakeholders are connected to the project, and the vertical axis represents the relative strength of the stakeholders’ voice in the context. Both are based on subjective measures.
A diagonal axis emerged and shows the target groups of the project: children as a vulnerable group, being a main focus of the project.
A diagonal axis emerged and shows the target groups of the project: children as a vulnerable group, being a main focus of the project.
data collection & interpretation
3.1 introduction interview
Guided Walks and Context Immersion
3.1 introduction interview
Early in the process, we met with Hlakudi, the founder of MYDO, over an unstructured interview. The meeting was not recorded, but notes were taken during the conversation. The questions took inspiration from the narrative interview approach (Kartch, 2018).
Early in the process, we met with Hlakudi, the founder of MYDO, over an unstructured interview. The meeting was not recorded, but notes were taken during the conversation. The questions took inspiration from the narrative interview approach (Kartch, 2018).
Gaining a basic understanding of the community and its needs, focusing on MYDO, historically and currently
1: What Are My Skills?
key insights
“the story of MYDO”
Gaining a basic understanding of the community and its needs, focusing on MYDO, historically and currently
Supporting a strengthened sense of self- and community identity
Building engagement and relationships with people in the community for
Supporting a strengthened sense of self- and community identity
and relationships
In February 2024, the second MYDO branch was opened to extend the services to children and youth living on the other side of the settlement.
In February 2024, the second MYDO branch was opened to extend the services to children and youth living on the other side of the settlement.
MYDO came out of a bottom-up approach, as a response to the lack of services catering the the needs of children in Melusi. As more needs were identified, programs were added.
MYDO came out of a bottom-up approach, as a response to the lack of services catering the the needs of children in Melusi. As more needs were identified, programs were added.
Even if the homework support is a foundational part of the services, MYDO aims to offer more than just another formal study setting, such as a space for recreation and safety.
Even if the homework support is a foundational part of the services, MYDO aims to offer more than just another formal study setting, such as a space for recreation and safety.
There is a strong dedication in the community to better the situation for children. This helped the organisation grow, even if they operated on limited
There is a strong dedication in the community to better the situation for children. This helped the organisation grow, even if they operated on limited
The session helped us understand our position and the terms and expectations of our project.
The session helped us understand our position and the terms and expectations of our project.
What impact can we make within the limited scope of Reality Studio?
Collection and Interpretation
Building engagement
with people in the community for
Hlakudi Office in MYDO
How does the second MYDO need to be different from the first?
“the story of MYDO”
Hlakudi
How does the second MYDO need to be
Interventions
community project days 3.6 summary of collected data 4.1 community project days
Community Days - "Let's build together!"
Claiming the Space to increase the sense of ownership of the space: 1. Colourfully painted signs made of repurposed metal shelves, standing by means of a folding reeds construction. 2. Partial blockage of the road outside MYDO using dug down car tyres. 3. Stacked rubber strips connected by nails and wire, a solution found by a community member, placed at either end of the space. Naming: Names relate cultural groups to geographical spaces, with important functions for constructing identity and emotional ties to places.
Facilitating the Recreation: Different places to sit were built and painted together. In the process, ideas for also facilitating different kinds of activities emerged, based on available materials.
The data gathering yielded lots of information, analysed through Affinity mapping (Krause & Pernice, 2024).
Needs can be broadly categorized according to their explicitness (Visser et al, 2007), and in our analysis we have simplified needs as being either expressed or latent, although in some cases the distinction is not definite.
key insights analysis
Below is a summary of the most important needs. The sorting was loosely based on Max-Neef’s (2008) Fundamental Human Needs Framework. Identity emerged as a central theme, relating closely to needs of protection and idleness. Needs of subsistence also came up, but were considered out of the scope of this project.
There is a need to strengthen the self-esteem and identity of children and youth, as well as to create a sense of belonging.
The building is not recognizable as MYDO and does not yet have a clear identity of its own.
Information about MYDO services is lacking and they want to increase outreach.
There are no designated safe spaces for children to play in Melusi 3 and in general there are many different kinds of safety concerns.
Permanence is lacking, in both a tangible and intangible sense, and related to different kinds of needs.
Model adapted from Visser et al (2007)
Replacing the old fence with a new
Collecting tyres from Mahem Raceway.
Clearing space on the road
Mounting the new signs.
From the left, Guiling, Mpho, Nkhsana, Karolina, Tove, Lerato, Xifeng
Building a speedbump to slow down traffic. Painting the signs.
Construction of new gate and fence.
Evaluation Workshop- Reflections from Stakeholders
At the end of our field study, we invited different stakeholders to a presentation. This was also an opportunity to collect reflections about the project in a workshop, interview and conversation. It also acted as a first handover of the project.
Handover and Follow-up
A few weeks after returning to Sweden, we reached out to the MYDO Melusi 3 managers to follow up on the interventions. The reponse consisted of photos, videos and voice recordings.
View from the main pass to MYDO. “The Last Sign Being Attached” Photography by Xifeng.
Sketch based on photo from Lerato, showing current use of the space.
Sketch by Tove
Phantom Foundations of Le Mirail - Adaptive and Resource-conscious Transformation
Toulouse, France
Urban Design Team Work
EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Supervisor: Charlotte Malterre-Barthes
The Dacheng Gate of Haifen Confucian Temple Investigation and Survey Jieyang, Guangdong, China
Selected Internship Work/Fall 2021
Institute of Architecture & Cultural Heritage of SCUT Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China
Supervisor: Zheyang Li, Zepeng Lin
Useful Daylight Simulation for Eco-discovery Townhouse Project.
Selected Internship Work/Spril 2025 SAGA Space Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
Supervisor: Sebastian Aristotelis, Uffe Emil Holm Thomsen
Building Analysis of Stromshuset, Gothenburg, Sweden
Building Simulation
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Supervisor: Alexander Hollberg, Toivo Säwén
Thank you for your consideration.
Xifeng Xi
xiwind.xi@hotmail.com +46 0734954490 / +86 13922300767 Else Alfelts Vej 72d, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark