YUAN XU

I’m an architecture student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, working toward low-carbon, climate-resilient and adaptable design that balances analytic rigour with human experience. Traditional Chinese courtyard thinking shapes how I read space: movement is choreographed through views, while windows and corridors frame vistas, draw breezes and invite light so that comfort and belonging emerge in everyday use.

My process is Analyse – Translate – Deliver. Through a Grasshopper-driven parametric workflow, I translate key metrics into clear rules for façades and spatial organisation, then advance ideas into detail through construction-aware decisions that account for material life cycles and the realities of on-site assembly. Drawings should read like instructions, not puzzles. I therefore prioritise narrative clarity so concept, diagram and detail remain aligned.

Cross-training in branding and packaging gives me a user-journey perspective: from a hand sketch to a BIM model, each touchpoint communicates the same intent. I focus on adaptable spatial types, modular strategies and gentle-impact foundations, with community use, accessibility and long-term operation set as baseline requirements.

I thrive in collaborative, iterative environments—test, visualise, simplify, deliver. My toolkit includes Rhino, Revit, Grasshopper, Ladybug and Adobe, and I work bilingually (EN/ZH) to bridge teams and stakeholders. If you’re interested in sustainable construction, data-informed façades, or turning complex ideas into intuitive spaces, feel free to reach out to me and connect. Data for clarity. Craft for care. Spaces for people.

Lush_Central Garden

Lush is a museum–garden for Newport / North Williamstown, set between homes and historic railway workshops. The project weaves rail heritage into daily public life: a long building follows the site boundary, opening toward the station side with a welcoming forecourt and a new public park. At ground level, historic trains anchor the main exhibition and make the street edge porous and visible; at the centre, a green court with water features offers a calm civic room. Above, a second level gathers learning rooms and community spaces while keeping back-of-house areas discreet. The aim is simple—turn a site short on greenspace into a place to arrive, linger and return, while honouring the neighbourhood’s layered rail history.

Lush — Railway Museum as Everyday Garden

In Newport (North Williamstown), our site sits between homes and historic railway workshops, yet usable greenspace is scarce. We asked: beyond preserving artifacts, could a “railway museum” bring everyday life back? That question sparked Lush—not trains in a box, but rail heritage planted into a garden you can arrive at, see through, and linger in. The long volume follows the boundary and stays porous at street level, where historic trains act as narrative anchors that turn curiosity into entry. At the centre, a green court with water works as the neighbourhood’s outdoor living room; above, a belt of learning and community rooms links across the garden, while back-of-house routes stay controlled and discreet, keeping order without friction. The vision is clear: use returning greenery and welcoming display to translate rail history into a shared, contemporary landscape—a place to arrive, dwell, and want to return to.

Lush — Railway Museum as Everyday Garden

Around the site, usable greenspace is scarce. Lush is our answer to a Newport site short on greenspace and civic glue: a railway museum organised as an everyday garden for Newport (North Williamstown). Our design vision is public-facing and simple—bring back greenery to support wellbeing and community presence, while honouring the site’s layered rail history. The building reads as a garden you can arrive at, see through and linger in: a porous ground edge with historic trains on show draws people from the street; a central green court and a neighbourhood park create calm, shaded outdoor rooms. Step-free routes and clear sightlines keep the place inclusive and easy to navigate. Old trains act as narrative anchors and encounter points, turning curiosity into visits and memory into a shared, living landscape.

Tidal Cycle_Long section

Tidal cycle reimagines North Wharf, Docklands as a calm yet active civic edge shaped by movement, microclimate and long views. The vision is clear: maximise waterfront presence while keeping circulation intuitive and inclusive. Layered balconies, deep canopies and a graded, porous façade preserve the harbour horizon, temper west glare and invite breeze. A glass canopy/dome spans between volumes to link destinations across the site, casting broad shade on plazas and walkways while driving cross-ventilation and stack-effect cooling. Plazas, sunken pockets and seafront decking consolidate public life into a single promenade; step-free routes, tactile cues and well-placed seating keep the edge generous for all users—legible by day, comfortable across seasons.

Tidal Cycle

At North Wharf, Tidal cycle treats the harbour as a daily companion. The building’s long waterfront profile opens on three sides to maximise horizon lines, while seafront decking, a canopy plaza and sunken pockets pull the public realm down to touch the water. Across the landscape, fountains and ponds stage moments of sound and reflection. Rainfall is captured by the canopy, filtered and routed to the urban farm, where produce supports the on-site restaurants—linking water, ground and program in a simple cycle. Above, a skybridge pool connects the two volumes, creating a clear aquatic landmark without blocking views below. Environmental comfort is tuned by a west façade that reduces heat and glare—important along public amenities—and by the building’s curved openings, which encourage natural airflow. Together these moves make the waterfront legible, accessible and memorable across seasons.