The study of architecture is a path that leads in many different directions. Some people have the desire to stick to the norm of creating yet another “breakthrough” design for a skyscraper or they decide to update the modern U.S. two-story suburban box house with a few more windows or a different style porch. Although these types of architects are needed in the modern-day world, the designs can be repetitive and anything but eye-catching.
But what happens when someone decides to take a different path in their architectural career? When they challenge the norm and ignite the desire to design something extraordinary with passion? The answer to this question can be found in Yihan Li.
Originally from Shanghai, China, Yihan Li came to the U.S. where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and graduated with honors from the Pratt Institute. She then was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania where she pursued and received a Master’s Degree in the Science of Design and Advanced Architectural Design in 2018. However, the road she took during her years of study was anything but uneventful and it allowed her to be able to put her unique eye for creativity to the test.
Due to her excellent academic record and recognized skills, she had already been accepted into an internship program at Eray Carbajo Inc. in Brooklyn, NY, before completing her bachelor’s degree. During this time she worked on several important design projects that really helped her develop her ingenious approach to architecture.
Some of these projects included the Argentina Housing Master plan which allowed her to incorporate schematic design into the plan’s construction drawings and analytic diagrams. She also took on the challenging goal of designing furniture by creating renderings for intriguing build plans and even participated in the mock-up of physical models for these layouts.
Eventual HOK, which is a world-renowned architectural firm, took notice of Yihan Li’s expertise and brought her into an internship program while she was still completing her master’s degree. Through this amazing opportunity, she was able to show off her incredible skills by working on a design project for ExxonMobil in which she took part in creating layouts for office massings as well as studied various approaches to building facade modeling.
After completing her internship at HOK and receiving her master’s degree, she realized that her passion for architecture gave her additional insight into creating unique patterns that are a rare find in many other architects. By applying her knowledge, devotion, and skillset into her work, she was able to generate multiple designs that are a cut above the rest and this is where things became even more interesting.
Dubai is a world-famous epicenter for beauty and creativity and perfect for the expertise of Yihan Li which she understood very well. She had a vision for Dubai that would allow it to expand its architectural horizons and ecological impact while maintaining its allure. Her Expo 2050 Dubai Sustainability Pavilion architectural renderings did just that. They are not only eye-catching but also bring to light what ecological sustainability in design actually means.
Yihan envisioned stepping outside the norm and using a building material that is both lightweight and sustainable. By using desalinated salt in combination with 3D printing, she envisions a pavilion design like no other which would be breathtaking upon completion. The structure would be built with passageways that are embedded down into the earth for creating a pleasant temperature year-round for any visitor while they would also be able to learn more about the power of 3D printing when using salt.
This type of ingenuity and foresight is exactly what makes Yihan Li stand out. Her ability to mix art, passion, and design into a recipe that inspires and ignites creativity is definitely uncommon and could certainly make her famous one day.
Another example of her impressive abilities is a project that she completed entitled “JFK Future Airport”. This, no doubt, is an excellent example of where the future of airports could be going and with Yihan Li behind the wheel of the design, it may very well be so.
In her creation, she not only brought to life on paper an airport that would encompass both elegance and usability but also incorporated the scalability issues of logistics that we often face with shipping. Her plans would allow for the increased flow of passengers and cargo with fewer bottlenecks while maintaining excellent ergonomics for airport employees.
The architectural design also calls for over half of the airport terminals and cargo holds to be built underground that would allow for better heating and cooling which in turn is better for the environment.
If airports and Dubai’s sustainability are not enough, Yihan has gone even further in creating an Urban Mining project where she helped solve many of the issues that we face with urban mining around the world. By using modern technology with artificial intelligence, she has laid out a plan to allow for urban areas to participate in mining exploration and collecting while avoiding issues with pollution and wasting materials.
By envisioning a complex constructed of multiple mining cells, each raw material collected would have its own compartments for processing, storing, and transportation. This would allow for a smooth transition of the entire mining process while ensuring safety for workers and minimal impact on the environment.
Seeing the big picture and thinking about how to improve every aspect of architecture is what sets Yihan Li aside from all the rest. Her ingenuity in envisioning breakthrough construction concepts as well as considering the ecological, logistical, and even ergonomic impact of her creations is something that is highly desired in the modern world that we live in.
We truly are excited to keep an eye on her journey to see what great things she will bring to the world next. Any company that works in the field of architecture should be more than honored to have Yihan join their team so that her inspiring ideas can be brought to reality for all of us to enjoy.
