In March 2019, Tianjin University School of Architecture delegation visited Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Michigan to conduct collaborative research, and also paid visits to Columbia University, Harvard University, MIT and Georgia Institute of Technology to exchange views on further cooperation in teaching and scientific research. Meanwhile, alumni academic exchanges and high-end talent recruitment fairs were held by the delegation in New York and Boston. The delegation consists of four members, including Professor KONG Yuhang, Executive Vice Dean; Associate Professor ZHANG Xinnan, chair of the Department of Architecture; Professor YANG Wei, director of the Center of International Cooperation, deputy chair of the Department of Architecture; and Associate Professor XU Xiwei, deputy chair of the Department of Urban and Rural Planning.

The visit was based on the inter-university partnership established by Tianjin University with the University of Michigan and Georgia Institute of Technology. The aim is to enhance research and education collaboration in key areas of architecture and urban planning. Based on preliminary preparation and in-depth communication during the visit, collaboration will be mainly focused on digital architectural design and fabrication, smart cities and intelligent buildings, resilient cities, urban renewal and heritage protection, etc.

At the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Professor Geoffrey Thun, the Associate Dean, hosted the activities in academic exchange and collaboration. Dean KONG Yuhang and Professor Jonathan Massey, Dean of the Taubman School of Architecture, discussed the themes and roadmaps of inter-school cooperation. Moreover, the delegation had extensive exchanges with professors and scholars from the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, landscape design and the digital fabrication laboratory. They discussed the specific topics and plans of joint teaching and collaborative research in terms of joint design studios, student exchange, research projects, etc.

After that, the delegation visited Columbia University School of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and MIT Media Lab. The delegation conducted multi-faceted exchanges with deans, department directors, well-known professors, and young scholars so as to understand the characteristics of high-level universities in the United States in terms of discipline construction, teaching, scientific research, management, and out-reach. The future development orientation of the architecture discipline was also discussed, together with the potential of future collaboration in joint teaching, cooperative research, and talent cultivation.

In the end, the delegation arrived at Georgia Institute of Technology. Under the organization of Dean Steve French, the delegation met with professors and academic leaders of the School to discuss their respective topics of teaching and scientific research, and summarized the key collaboration areas.

During the visits to high-level universities in the United States, the delegation also organized two alumni academic exchanges and high-end talent recruitment activities in New York and Boston. The North American Chinese Scholars Alumni Association in New York organized an academic symposium for architecture and civil engineering professionals, attended by more than 90 people. At the session, Dean KONG Yuhang delivered a lecture entitled “The Path to Architecture” and expressed the willingness of recruiting talents; ZHANG Xinnan, YANG Wei and XU Xiwei shared their academic views during the dialogue section. After that, a high-end talent recruitment fair was organized at Harvard University with the help of Tianjin University alumni. Nearly 30 young talents were present and more than 80 people joined the online discussion to engage in the cordial exchanges with the visiting teachers.

The academic activity, through in-depth exchanges with five high-level architecture schools in the United States, played an important role in understanding the focuses and trends in architectural education and research in North America. Meanwhile, the academic visit also enabled those institutions to get a knowledge of the School of Architecture, Tianjin University. Key fields for future cooperation and the road map for implementation are also formulated. The visit is a milestone of our cooperation with high-level architectural academies in North America, and it will contribute to the development of Tianjin Universities' architecture discipline. 

With Professor Jonathan Massey, Dean of the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Communication at the digital fabrication lab at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Workshop with the research team led by Professor Geoffrey Thun, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

Communication with Professor Amale Andraos, Dean of the School of Architecture, Columbia University

Communication with Dr. Steffen Boddeker, Associate Dean of the School of Architecture, Columbia University

Communication with Professor Mark Lee, Chair of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University

Communication with Professor Diane Davis, Chair of the Department of Urban Planning, Harvard University

Visiting MIT Media Lab

Discussing collaborative research with Professor Steve French, Dean of the College of Design, Georgia Institute of Technology

Building environment virtual reality experiment at Georgia Institute of Technology

Visiting the construction process of Living Building Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dean KONG Yuhang giving a lecture at New York Architecture and Civil Engineering Chinese Scholar Forum

With Mr. YAN Weimin, the organizer of New York Architecture and Civil Engineering Chinese Scholars Forum, and some alumni of Tianjin University

"Tianjin University School of Architecture High-end Talent Recruitment and Alumni Meeting" held at GSD, Harvard University