Visiting Student Researchers in Pescara

Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology

PhD Candidate: Li Xinfei

Advisor: Prof. Liu Kecheng

Co-advisor: Prof. Alessandro Camiz

E-mail: xinfei@xauat.edu.cn

Personal e-mail: xinfei02212626@gmail.com

ORCID: 0009-0002-6141-8606

Title of Dissertation: Rewriting Methods for Urban Historic Texts in Xi’an

Abstract

This study takes the core area of Xi’an—a historical city characterized by profound stratifications of heritage and contemporary architecture—as its sample. It addresses the present condition in which Chinese cities are excavating their own historical and cultural resources to reconstruct identity, a condition defined by a crisis in the sustainability of urban historical forms and a rupture between ancient and modern urban structures. By treating the city as a systematic subject of architectural case analysis, this research develops a study model based on urban historic texts, with focused discussion on how the phenomenon of morphological layering in Xi’an influences the typology of its contemporary urban architectural forms. The aim is to explore sustainable urban regeneration strategies for East Asian cities—such as Xi’an—where historical and contemporary cultural strata are intensely superimposed. Ultimately, the study seeks to propose a sustainable principle for the continued writing of urban historical morphological texts: through the study of the urban text embedded in a given site, architectural design should respond to the deep structural systems of urban historical form within the latency of the city’s material memory.

Keywords

Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology

PhD Candidate: Wei Qi

Advisor: Prof. Liu Kecheng

Co-advisor: Prof.ssa Susanna Ferrini

E-mail: 

Personal e-mail: vicky022126@gmail.com

ORCID: 0009-0001-1916-8474

Title of Dissertation: A Study on Qingjing-Oriented Design Methods in Architectural Practice

Abstract

“Architecture should not be understood merely as a three-dimensional physical entity, but rather as a human-centered condition constituted through perception and experience”.  Qingjing-oriented design refers to a design approach in which human perception is incorporated into the establishment of the architectural theme from the very beginning of the design process and continuously guides the generation of the entire architectural spatial system. In this sense, qingjing-oriented design represents a renewed integration of the material and emotional relationship between human beings and architecture in the post-modernist era.

This study aims to identify, through the analysis of architectural works by contemporary architects, a coherent design pathway that moves from qingjing themes to architectural language, and is ultimately realized through spatial systems, surface elements, and the interaction between architecture and its surrounding environment. The paper argues that one of the fundamental pathways through which architecture generates new forms lies in the principle that form follows qingjing.

In this study, the term qingjing (情境) is derived from the Chinese linguistic and theoretical context. It refers to a composite condition defined through human aesthetic perception, encompassing interrelated factors such as time, place, subject, and emotion. Its conceptual scope is intended to enter into dialogue with related notions in Western theory, including situation, atmosphere, and sensory-bodily perception.

Keywords