Flora Chen and Arthur Lu awarded Steedman Student Summer Research Grants

Architecture students Flora Chen and Arthur Lu have been awarded Steedman Student Summer Research Grants, allowing them to pursue travel-based research on a topic pertaining to the built environment. Chen, who expects to finish her Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Architectural Studies this fall, is traveling throughout the U.S. and China to explore the concepts of native-land togetherness and the embodiment of community space of the Chinese diasporas through huiguan, traditional guild halls throughout China. The research will build on her architectural studies work, which focuses on programmatic hybridity of higuan and how to continue spaces of representation and resilience when their physical architecture disappears.

Lu, a junior majoring in architecture, is traveling to Hong Kong and Singapore to study the space between public and private areas, and whether public spaces constitute an inclusive, equitable, and accessible urban commons. The research is an extension of Lu’s independent project with Senior Lecturer Matthew Allen, which explores how colonial rule prioritized some districts in Hong Kong over others. Singapore shares a common history with Hong Kong as former British colonies and modern day financial powers, but with a significantly different outcome in housing and public space — Singapore has nearly three times the public green space per capita of Hong Kong, along with a higher emphasis on communal spaces. By comparing the two cities, Lu hopes to understand how rules, management, and spatial design interact to support or constrain public life.

The grants are part of the international Steedman Fellowship in Architecture, a partnership between the Sam Fox School and AIA St. Louis to support travel-based research for student.