USC Architecture XpoInstructor: Jia Zhou Zhu
This thesis studio proposes that resolution is scale — not a technical afterthought, but a primary design driver. Students investigate how architecture emerges from the interplay between information density, representational units, and material realization, operating across three linked domains: digital resolution (the relationship between discrete units like pixels, voxels, and polygons and overall form); simulated […]
This thesis examines how people understand places through expectations shaped by media, memory, and experience. Hong Kong is often associated with 1990s cinema, dense urban imagery, and environments like Kowloon Walled City. Studying and visiting the site revealed conditions that appear vandalistic—exposed infrastructure, patched surfaces, and irregular spaces—but are actually the result of necessity and […]
Traditionally, the architectural grid dictates a rigid hierarchy where space is enslaved by structural alignment. This thesis proposes a Discrete Resilient System that moves beyond mere structural redundancy to achieve Total Spatial Liberation. By utilizing a non-linear syntax of 30°, 60°, and 90° rotations, the system generates an "invasive" network that functions independently of traditional […]
This thesis is about taking the outer shell of iconic, every day building types, and redefining the interior. In order to save those dying typologies, and resolve the conflict between ordinary building and extraordinary architecture. Because of society's progression, lots of culturally important building typology are lost through time. Some of them have unique structural […]
This thesis proposes an architectural model that pulls the city “up” instead of “out,” challenging limitations to vertical city planning and urban development. Traditional infrastructure, such as roads and streets, becomes vertical circulation and structural systems that envelop and segment stacked “blocks”, each containing distinct programs and functions as typical blocks would. This vertical infrastructure, […]
This thesis investigates architecture as a process of discovery through the generation and curation of form. A large body of geometries is produced through systematic exploration, creating a field of spatial possibilities rather than a single predetermined outcome. From this collection, selected forms are translated into architectural contexts across multiple scales. Small-scale elements operate as […]
Studying the coexistence of architecture and the land, this thesis examines the tension between two systems of building—implicit patterns found in nature and the patterns of manmade grid—and translates that into a way of designing geometry from the bottom up. A cube is used as a neutral container, subdivided into smaller cubes within itself, where […]
An exploration of digital interactions, primarily between software and website, as well as envelope and content. A proposal for a new definition and experience of digital architecture. The software is the framework within which the website is viewed. While the current content of the website is personal architecture work, it is merely a placeholder. The […]
This thesis proposes a multi-building urban prototype for nomadic life, in which residential, office, and cultural-commercial programs are organized as distinct architectural volumes rather than merged into a single mixed-use form. The project is unified through shared commons and infrastructure that support arrival, mobility, work, social interaction, and recovery. These collective spaces operate as the […]
The reconstruction of Notre-Dame following the Notre-Dame Cathedral fire privileged historical fidelity over innovation, preserving identity but foregoing an opportunity to engage contemporary cultural, environmental, and philosophical shifts. A speculative approach could reinterpret the cathedral as a living institution—embedding sustainability, transparency, and technological expression within its sacred legacy. Mass timber, through advanced Cross-Laminated Timber systems, […]