Dezeen School Shows: a proposal that integrates findings from magpie behavioural research into the landscape design of a Melbourne waterfront is among the projects from students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Also featured are a game designed to educate users about recycling and a proposal to transform Shanghai's North Caoxi Road into a "sports and vitality business corridor".
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Institution: School of Design
Courses: Master of Architecture (International) (M.Arch), International Industrial Design Engineering (IIDE), Master of Design (International) (MoDi) and Master of Landscape Architecture (International) (M.LA)
Tutors: Chang Danni, Du Qian, Zhang Zhan, Tan Xinyang and Chen Dan
School statement:
"Design education in the field of human habitat at Shanghai Jiao Tong University can be traced back to the early twentieth century.
"In 2017, the university consolidated its design disciplines and amalgamated architecture, design and landscape architecture into the new School of Design under the overarching vision of 'Total Design'.
"The design disciplines at SJTU have pursued a harmonious communion of humanities, arts, science and technology for educating elite talents in the built environment, art and design fields.
"The programmes have been distinguished by attributes of social conscience, leadership, cosmopolitanism and truth-seeking spirit.
"Their achievements in education, research, practice, social service and international reach have earned worldwide recognition.
"The establishment of Shanghai Jiao Tong School of Design coincides with a momentous historical opportunity: the state-initiated strategic transformation from 'Made in China' to 'Designed in China', and the municipality's ambitious plan to turn Shanghai into a capital of design and a centre for science and technological innovation.
"Riding on a world-class platform, with high-calibre students and first-rate research, our vision is to become a global School of Design with a distinctive Shanghai Jiao Tong character, sustained by a community of talented scholars and design practitioners."
The Sunken Days of Towers by Yan Jiahao
"The Sunken Days of Towers reimagines Bologna's Two Towers through an interactive journey into urban memory.
"Developed through virtual heritage ethnography, the project translates archival research and ethnographic fieldwork into six atmospheric narrative worlds.
"Participants collect fragments, encounter the towers as speaking characters and choose which memories to carry forward.
"Each choice reveals connections between architecture and everyday life, from orientation and public gathering to shelter and collective identity.
"Combining spatial design with storytelling, the project explores how digital heritage experiences can give visitors a role in interpreting places and build emotional connections with the lives surrounding them."
Student: Yan Jiahao
Course: Graduation Design, Master of Architecture (International) (M.Arch); SJTU-POLIMI Double Master's Degree Program
Tutors: Huang Huaqing and Corinna Rossi
Email: hedenjole[at]gmail.com
Life Pulse: Avenue by Peng Di, Zhou Hengli, Zhuang Yaru and Zhu Xinyi
"This project proposes the transformation of North Caoxi Road into Shanghai's first sports and vitality business corridor, establishing a continuous urban corridor linking Xuhui Park, Xujiahui Center and Xuhui Sports Park.
"Through the regeneration of public spaces and commercial interfaces, the design creates a flexible urban environment accommodating both everyday activities and large-scale events.
"Three spatial strategies – Sports, Culture, and Commerce Pulse – are introduced to integrate active mobility, cultural heritage and mixed-use functions.
"By weaving sports, culture and commerce into the existing urban fabric, the project aims to enhance public life, strengthen local identity and stimulate sustainable urban vitality."
Students: Peng Di, Zhou Hengli, Zhuang Yaru and Zhu Xinyi
Course: Urban Design, Core Studio 2, Master of Architecture (International) (M.Arch)
Tutors: Wang Lin, Huang Yinwu, Yue Feng and Rao Fujie
Parallel Orbits by Alima Adalaiti, Yang Yuchen, Zhang Hewen, Wang Jiamin and Guo Yaya
"Parallel Orbits explores how love and presence across distance can extend beyond real-time connection.
"While technology has made communication increasingly immediate, distance and different daily rhythms often leave two lives unfolding in parallel without a shared sense of experience.
"The project combines a camera, projection and AI video synthesis. It records each person's everyday moments, recombines them through AI and projects scenes of the two working, studying and living together.
"Though physically apart, their lives continue side by side. Parallel Orbits reconnects these routines, turning asynchronous moments into a lasting sense of companionship and shared life."
Students: Alima Adalaiti, Yang Yuchen, Zhang Hewen, Wang Jiamin and Guo Yaya
Course: Design for Life, International Industrial Design Engineering (IIDE)
Tutors: Zhang Zhan, Zhang Yifan, Lan Yijian and LunYeh
Soft-Tech Mobility: CMF Design for Future Vehicle Interiors by Liu Yirui, Li Weiran, Wang Weichuan, Zhang Yin and Tao Kaiyan
"Soft-Tech Mobility explores how colour, material, finish and ambient lighting can rebuild a sense of security inside future vehicle cabins.
"In response to social uncertainty and anxiety around rapid technological change, the project combines order, realism and intelligence to create a warm, advanced interior experience.
"Three CMF directions translate this strategy into distinct atmospheres. Serene Float balances sky blue, sand-toned leather and champagne metal.
"Meta-Interface combines pearl white, tactile textures and digital forms. Crimson Rhythm uses vivid orange and adaptive lighting to support comfort, emotional well-being and spatial safety during urban travel."
Students: Liu Yirui, Li Weiran, Wang Weichuan, Zhang Yin and Tao Kaiyan
Course: Smart Transportation Design (SJTU x SAIC DESIGN x Unitree), International Industrial Design Engineering (IIDE)
Tutors: Han Ting, Liu Gang, Shao Jingfeng, Huang Qinghui, Gao Mingwei, Li Hui, Yang Fan and Gao Ziyue
Kingdom Midas by He Liyouyu, Zhang Kai, Zhu Wenxin and Zhu Yeqi
"Kingdom Midas is an educational adventure game that transforms recycling science into playful, story-driven challenges.
"Players follow Maimai, a young boy who becomes the temporary king of a magical world where discarded paper and metal come alive as resource spirits.
"To restore the kingdom, players complete mini-games inspired by real recycling processes, including pulping, sorting, compression, magnetic separation and remanufacturing.
"Through colourful 2D environments, friendly characters and accessible interactions, the game introduces children to the principles of resource recovery and reuse, encouraging environmental awareness while turning complex scientific processes into an engaging and imaginative experience."
Students: He Liyouyu, Zhang Kai, Zhu Wenxin and Zhu Yeqi
Course: Virtual Experience Design (SJTU x Apple iCreate Club), Master of Design (International) (MoDi)
Tutors: Liu Bo and Liu Zhao
Email: heliyouyu[at]sjtu.edu.cn
VeriSpine by Lu Hanwen, Xu Zhiyu, Huang Keqiao, Peng Xinying and Mukaidaisi Abuduaini
"VeriSpine is a portable and wearable scoliosis screening system designed for adolescents, enabling spinal assessment through walking.
"It consists of three modular units worn across the upper body and both lower limbs, each combining a self-adaptive silicone carrier and adjustable elastic straps.
"Nine detachable IMU sensors slot into the carriers. During a gait task, VeriSpine captures motion data, and a spatiotemporal deep learning network then generates screening results.
"After screening, the units return to a compact carrying case for charging, supporting deployment in schools, communities and remote areas with limited screening access."
Students: Lu Hanwen, Xu Zhiyu, Huang Keqiao, Peng Xinying and Mukaidaisi Abuduaini
Course: Embodied Perceptive Product Design, Master of Design (International) (MoDi)
Tutor: Tan Xinyang
Email: hanwenlu[at]sjtu.edu.cn
Shihe Garden: Season-Focused Song Dynasty-Style Garden by Yin Ruoting and Zhang Bingru
"Shihe Garden blends ancient and modern elegance through seasonal landscapes. Embodying Song-style garden spirits of living in tune with nature, it offers poetic healing from urban life.
"Integrating Song aesthetics with modern night tourism and social needs, visitors gain Flower, Incense, Tea or Painting identities via a digital screen, guiding seasonal journeys: spring flowers, summer incense, autumn tea and winter paintings.
"Transforming the four song arts into vivid night products through interactive cultural experiences and night markets, the project prioritises safety to extend visitor stays, enhance night vitality and drive sustainable garden IP operations."
Students: Yin Ruoting and Zhang Bingru
Course: Oriental Landscape Design, Master of Landscape Architecture (International) (M.LA)
Tutors: Wang Yun, Shen Sixian, Yu Bingqin, Li Yuhong and Chen Dan
MR Supported Nature Science Popularization by Zhao Jie, Xu Congru, Chen Qiuyu, Wang Weiran, Li Shuyuan and Yang Weiyi
"Nature Science Popularization and Study-Tour Design Supported by MR Technology, with Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden as the practical carrier, systematically explores the deep integration path between mixed reality (MR) technology and landscape architecture design through three stages of teaching: planning-oriented spatial diagnosis, MR technology application and virtual-real integrated design scheme generation.
"It aims to help students master a new language for transforming digital technology into spatial design, broaden a systematic and integrated creative vision, inspire deep reflection on the essence and purpose of the man-made environment, develop an awareness of interdisciplinary collaboration, master systematic design methods and understand the social and industrial value and role of design and designers."
Students: Zhao Jie, Xu Congru, Chen Qiuyu, Wang Weiran, Li Shuyuan and Yang Weiyi
Course: Multi-Disciplinary Innovative Design, Master of Landscape Architecture (International) (M.LA)
Tutors: Tang Xiaomin, Zhang Yang and Leyang Chen
Architecture Ex Parte – Operational Protocols for Responsive Spatial Systems by Xin Mei
"This research derives a design methodology from contemporary precedents. Rather than treating architecture as a fixed whole, it examines how autonomous parts interact with people, infrastructures and spatial systems.
"The diagram presents architecture as fragmented yet interconnected, with elements suspended, assembled and linked to information, people, logistics, energy and space.
"Comparative analysis identifies three protocols: threshold switching, gradient modulation and functional re‑coding. Each connects human actions to interfaces, triggering spatial mutations that reorganise the whole.
"The research understands architecture as a responsive system, where local components mediate between physical, social and informational networks, continuously generating new spatial states."
Student: Xin Mei
Course: Case Studies of Future Architecture ex parte (AxP) — In the context of Advanced Information and Logistics, Core Studio 1, Master of Architecture (International) (M.Arch)
Tutors: Zhuang Shen and Wu Hongde
Email: xinmei[at]sjtu.edu.cn
Wings and Ways: Human-magpie Harmony Safe Space for Arden by Wu Jinghan, Li Shuyuan and Cao Yuheng
"This project reimagines underused underpasses and waterfront spaces in Melbourne's Arden Precinct as a shared landscape for people and Australian magpies.
"Responding to magpie breeding behaviours and the site's vegetation history, the design connects native shade planting, reshapes waterfront paths through subtle landform changes, and restores native plant communities.
"These interventions provide habitat and visual buffers while reducing overlap between human movement and nesting areas.
"By transforming spaces of conflict into opportunities for coexistence, Wings and Ways proposes a waterfront where people can gather and relax while magpies forage, nest and breed."
Students: Wu Jinghan, Li Shuyuan and Cao Yuheng
Course: Landscape Planning and Design in Metropolitan Areas (Jiao◦Tong Global Virtual Classroom: SJTU×RMIT), Master of Landscape Architecture (International) (M.LA)
Tutors: Wang Ling, Zhu Liqing, Alice Lewis, Ethan Zhang and Lee Parks
Email: 18811087937[at]163.com
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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