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My central motivation to study and practice in architecture is rooted in my philosophical studies. This discipline has
cultivated in me a habit of close observation and critical reflection,
particularly around a question that continues to shape my work: how does space
shape relationship between environment and human identity, and how should
architects exercise this power with care and responsibility?
Email: yzhao182@syr.edu
CV
Academic Work
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Design for Deconstruction
-
Apollonian and Dionysian
- Live, Recycle, Farm
- Coastal Resilience Reimagined
- Living-Synthesis
- Invasion
- Buffalo Student Residential Housing
- Museum of Emotion
Professional/Other Work
- Analog Photography
- Internship Works
- Fine Art
Academic Work
Design for Deconstruction
ARC409 Spring 2025 | Architecture Integrated Design Studio
Instructor: Brian Lonsway | blonsway@syr.edu
Site: Syracuse, NY
Concept Phase Collaborator: Tina Jiang
Design for Deconstruction, rethinking buildings as adaptable material systems designed from the outset to be repaired, transformed, and eventually disassembled so that each component retains value rather than becoming waste.
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Apollonian and Dionysian
ARC407 Spring 2024 | Architecture Design VI
Instructor: Rami Abou-Khalil, Ivi Diamantopoulou | raboukha@syr.edu, idiamant@syr.edu
Concept Phase Collaborator: Adam Zhao, Cathy Wang
Project
rethinking preservation in New York City through an intervention that connects institutional order and lived community culture, creating a shared architectural framework where authority and everyday life remain distinct yet engage in dialogue through space.
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Live, Recycle, Farm
ARC408 Fall 2025 | Architecture Design VII
Instructor: Luca Ponsi | lponsi@syr.edu
Concept Phase Collaborator: Amanda Zhang, Adam Zhao
Inspired by Sardinia’s layered environmental and social challenges, our proposal reimagines Arborea as a resilient community where farming, living, and sustainability are integrated through adaptive design, reused materials, and a modular network of homes and farms that strengthens connections between people, land, and future collective living.
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Coastal Resilience Reimagined
Summer 2025 | Designing Resilience Global Competition 2025
Instructor: Abingo Wu | abingo.wu@gmail.com
Syracuse University Team Members: Amanda Zhang, ZIlin Jing Ayrton “A.J.” Laucks, Juinkye “Kyle” Chiang
Drawing from the displaced Danmin waterborne culture of Changzhou Island, our proposal reimagines the island as a resilient and productive community by integrating floating housing traditions, adaptive modular systems, ecological infrastructure, and agriculture based living across urban, site, and architectural scales to support inclusive everyday life rather than tourism driven development.
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Living-Synthesis
Summer 2024 | Under the Bridge Competition
Team Members: Yangtong Zhao, Amanda Zhang, Zilin Jing
Responding to rapid displacement and rising housing costs in New York City, our proposal reimagines the vacant spaces beneath Manhattan’s bridges as a hyper adaptable, self sufficient affordable housing system that prioritizes long term, enjoyable living and community resilience rather than minimal cost alone.
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Invasion
ARC207 Fall 2022 | Architecture Design III
Instructor: Cait McCarthy | cmccar12@syr.edu
This project reinterprets invasion as a productive architectural strategy by inserting a geometric framework of lines and spatial interventions into an existing mass, reorganizing circulation, program, and structure into a continuous and connected spatial system where disruption becomes a catalyst for cohesion.
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Buffalo Student Residential Housing
ARC307 Fall 2022 | Architecture Design V
Instructor: Timothy Stenson | tistenso@syr.edu
Responding to urban analysis showing a need for student housing and public green space, the project proposes a vertically evolving residential building of studio and one bedroom units paired with a large neighborhood park, using a layered facade system that balances privacy while creating intermediary balcony spaces connecting residents to the surrounding landscape.
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Museum of Emotion
Summer 2023 | Museum of Emotion Competition
Team Members: Yangtong Zhao, Amanda Zhang
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Professional Work/ Other Work
Analog Photography
2022-2025
My approach to film and street photography treats the image as art when it communicates the emotional experience of a moment rather than merely recording appearances, using spontaneous encounters in public space to reveal shared human experiences and create connections between personal perception, cultural meaning, and collective urban life.
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Intership Works
2021-2025
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Fine Art
2021-2025
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