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Jingqiu Zhang
Jingqiu Zhang is Co-founder and Principal Architect of IARA. She holds a Master of Environmental Design degree from the Yale School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from The University of Hong Kong.
Zhang has long focused on urban–rural issues and the integration of architecture and society, actively engaging in the discourse and construction of contemporary built environments. Her practice spans architectural design, spatial curation, and cross-cultural dialogue. Through research and writing, publications, moving-image works, installation exhibitions, and public engagement, she explores how design can participate in and respond to the evolving conditions of our time.
She has been invited to design exhibitions and curate programs for institutions including China Guardian Art Center (Beijing), the Embassy of Finland in China, the Instituto Cervantes Beijing, the Embassy of Spain in China, the 2019 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary Art in China, the Yale School of Architecture North Gallery, Yale Center Beijing, and the 2019 Beijing International Design Week. She was recognized as one of Youfang’s Young Chinese Architectural Practices in 2021 and named to AD100 China (2025) as one of the 100 most influential figures in architecture and interior design.
Beyond her professional practice, Zhang serves as Vice President of the Anhui New Farmers Association and as a Member of the Anhui Youth Federation, where she actively promotes urban–rural development and youth engagement in social participation.
She is also deeply involved in education and research. She has served as a collaborative instructor for the course “Social Integrated Practice and Field Research” at the School of Architecture and Landscape Design, Peking University, and as a joint mentor at the School of Architecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts. Her research and writings have been published in Architectural Record and Art Theory & Art History Journal, among other media and academic journals. She has translated and published works including New Suburbanization and Oskar Schlemmer’s Modern and Postmodern Stage: The Bauhaus Theatre Experiment.
She has been invited to deliver lectures at the Huangshan Municipal Party School, Instituto Cervantes Beijing, Chengdu Social Design Action Forum, Red Dot Design Museum Xiamen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tunghai University in Taiwan, Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Yale Center Beijing, among others.
In 2022, she co-founded the IARA Urban–Rural Research Center with Lubin Liu, establishing a platform integrating research, education, curation, organization, and operations. Working within the expanded field of design, the center advances urban and rural development through cultural cultivation and social participation. It has incubated socially impactful initiatives such as the “IARA Urban–Rural Action,” which received the UNESCO Global World Heritage Education Innovation Award and has been widely covered by major media outlets including Xinhua News Agency and CCTV, reaching a cumulative audience of over ten million.
Lubin Liu
Lubin Liu is Co-founder and Principal Architect of IARA. He is a National First-Class Registered Architect in China and holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He previously served as Director of Studio 4A2 at Tsinghua University Architectural Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
Liu brings extensive experience in architectural design, urban–rural planning, brand strategy, and event curation. He has long been committed to local practice within contemporary cultural contexts, with sustained attention to how popular culture, visual media, and social participation influence urban–rural regeneration and architecture. Actively integrating these dimensions into spatial production and community-making, he is dedicated to cross-disciplinary innovation—from strategic conceptualization to on-the-ground implementation. His work has generated demonstrative social and cultural innovation cases in the fields of urban renewal, cultural exchange, and international educational collaboration.
He has been invited to design exhibitions and curate programs for institutions including China Guardian Art Center (Beijing), the Embassy of Finland in China, and Instituto Cervantes Beijing, among others. He has also participated in major exhibitions and events such as the 2012 Beijing Get It Louder Exhibition, the 2014 and 2015 Beijing Design Week, and the 2015 10x100_UED Ten Years, One Hundred Architects Exhibition. He was featured in UED’s Young Architects Special Issue (2014), selected for Domus Creative Youth 100+ (2017), and recognized in the 2024 Forbes China Elite Returnees 100 and AD100 China (2025) as one of the 100 most influential figures in architecture and interior design.
He initiated and curated significant forums and exhibitions, including the “China Urban Regeneration Forum” at Harvard University (2019) and the “New Era · New Normal” exhibition and forum at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (2020).
Liu is also active in education and research. He has served as a collaborative instructor for the course “Social Integrated Practice and Field Research” at the School of Architecture and Landscape Design, Peking University, and as a joint mentor at the School of Architecture, Central Academy of Fine Arts.
In 2022, he co-founded the IARA Urban–Rural Research Center with Jingqiu Zhang, establishing an integrated platform encompassing research, education, curation, organization, and operations. Working within the expanded field of design, the center advances urban and rural development through cultural cultivation and social participation. It has incubated socially impactful initiatives such as the “IARA Urban–Rural Action,” which received the UNESCO Global World Heritage Education Innovation Award and has been widely covered by major media outlets including Xinhua News Agency and CCTV, reaching a cumulative audience of over ten million.