Yuanxin Zhao

Selected Works For Application To Master of Architecture

-Contact-

Email: zhaoyuanxin233@163.com

Mobile Number: 008618912616206

Address: 132-202, Dushuwan, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China

-About-

I completed my undergraduate study at the Welsh School of Architecture in 2022 and gained working experience later. I plan to pursue Part 2 RIBA accreditation and continue the path to becoming a chartered architect in the future.

Intern at AECOM

Assisting junior and senior architects in completing various tasks including case studies, making graphics, and scheme generation.

Intern at Tus-Design Group Co.,Ltd.

Familiar with the workflow of the architectural firm. And strengthened my communication ability.

'Educational Community' at Cardiff University

The brief requires us to reuse a ruin creatively. I designed a school that teaches local people conservation skills to the ruin to improve unemployment problems

Participated in CAUKIN Virtual Workshop

It was a short-term design project. Developed an early-stage design in Bogor, Indonesia that includes a homemade rainwater collection system.

Participated in SANCTUARY design competition

-Languages-

Chinese: Mother Language

English: Advanced

• IELTS 7.0

Everyone had different communication styles, and we didn't have cohesion in the beginning. Actively improved communication across the group and the group's work efficiency by more frequent conversations .

Have you ever heard of a movie called The Fall by Tarsem Singh? It won the Special Mention of Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007. The continuous appearance of simple, elegant, and harmoniously composed pictures is the best feature of this film. Obviously, the costumes, sets, and composition of this film have undergone a lot of modification. It must be a hard process because there are no defined standards. However, the director's inner call for creativity and beauty transcended the ordinary reality and achieved a perfect work. I have the same belief as an architecture student. I do not want to become a machine instructed by building regulations. Instead, the desire to create and the pursuit of beauty drive my designs. I enjoy the iterative process of revising my designs, graphics, and composition until they are perfect enough to please me.

Following this spirit of dedication, I decided to apply to MArch ARB Pt 2 because I think it is the right place to improve my architectural skills. I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture at Cardiff University in 2022. I also started working in AECOM until July 2023. Aesthetic taste, in my view, is more important and harder to improve than technical skills. Chinese culture, especially my local culture has fundamentally shaped my aesthetic taste and consequently my design style. My portfolio is inspired by many ancient Chinese poems, myths, and basic building types. The myth of “Duck City” brings abundant thresholds to a disordered shopping center. Ancient poems about local rains then inspire my design of the prototype facilitating drainage and enjoying the rainfall. I want this unique design style to be more influential on the international stage with further professional guidance from March.

I conducted a case study of London's new Crossrail from TOD's (Transit-oriented Development) perspective and assisted senior architects in various design stages during my internship at AECOM. I managed to catch up with other senior architects' working pace and met the deadline. Learning in an intense environment has benefitted me a lot, especially in maintaining a stable mentality.

Intern at Suzhou Garden Development Co.,Ltd.

Developed model making skills. Studied basic knowledge of SunMao which is a traditional Chinese wood junction. Learned carpentry and made a wood window in SunMao structure.

I am extremely interested in the discussion about how buildings can mediate the new relationship between humans and nature, as I understand these building concepts are both architectural and sociological. I carried out initial research in my portfolio and concluded three different natural landscapes determine their corresponding forms and these forms result in different cultures. Still, I believe there are potentials to be developed into a more comprehensive project and the scale of the project can be extended. In the context of the climate crisis, people begin to consider possibilities beyond a social structure dominated by humans. The pursuit of nature, such as rewilding, will pose a potential challenge to the production model based on capitalism. The built environment is the most direct embodiment of these possibilities in future. I want to embrace this opportunity through prestigious research strengths at The University of Edinburgh with architectural design through making and drawing. Furthermore, with the basis of this 2-year programme, I plan to pursue Part 2 RIBA accreditation and continue the path to becoming a chartered architect in the future. I am looking forward to exploring societal boundaries in architecture and architects' real responsibilities through this program.

Chinese Ancient Myth | Kuafu chased the sun

Keywords: Human Body, Nature, Moving, Transform

01 Kuafu Liked Nature

Ancient Myth

Kuafu's Body Kuafu's Moving Spirit

Human

In the myth of Kua Fu Chasing the Sun, natural elements such as the sun and water determine his actions. After his death, his cane and body merged into nature and became part of this complex system. This project will re-paraphrase the connotation of this myth through the form of architecture. In this project, Kuafu's body has been transformed into various natural environments. His soul becomes an installation that moves through these natural environments. People live in these installations. Different natural environments determine different combination forms of installations, and these forms will affect human society and culture. Human beings, architecture, and nature are unified because they all originate from Kuafu.

Building Type: Conceptial Project Based on a Myth

Location: Caoxie Mountain, Suzhou

Instructor: Chuxiao Wang

Active Nature | Caoxie Mountain Ruin

The relationship between nature and installation is like mold and mold. The installation moves around and is shaped into different forms by corresponding natural environments. And these architectural forms influenced the culture of the people.

Food

Worship

Culture Birds

The installation and nature are always in a harmonious relationship because they originate from the same myth.

Prototype | A Moving Mold

This prototype is the embodiment of the imaginary moving spirit of Kuafu. It can even react with different natural terrains and form corresponding forms. When moving individually, it is a small dwelling that can accommodate two people.

Can humans control their creations? In this scene, people bring the moving spirit of Kuafu to the world in the form of a moving building. Its ability to move is mythological, not given by humans.

Prototype | Moving Cycle

This is a building complex on the move. They will stop at a certain place and combine. After a while, they disperse and move on to their next destination. The multi-legged structure enables them to straddle rolling hills.

Prototype | Powerplant