15.01.26 - Xiaoyu Shi receives Canadian Architect Student Award of Merit
Graduate Xiaoyu Shi (MArch 2025) has received a 2025 Canadian Architect Student Award of Merit.
Canadian Architect magazine, in publication since 1955, sponsors annual awards for design-stage projects and recognizes final-year architecture students.
Shi’s thesis New Territories is inspired by Hong Kong’s emerging and expanding airport artificial islands. A fictional story is developed about the survival of companion species in this capitalist ruin: A Philippine fisherman makes a living in Hong Kong by collaborating with a pink dolphin to run a tourist program. Their risky business begins to thrive in the increasingly narrow waterways until the dolphin is taken away by the local police. The story suggests something omnipresent on the site: a high degree of artificiality, which has become a critical ingredient in the formulation of our contemporary cities and cultures.
“Architecture begins with imagination, yet its material presence carries the potential for profound impact, both constructive and destructive,” said awards juror Kelly Buffey, a founding partner of Akb Architects. “A thoughtful reflection that is beautifully represented as a dreamlike cacophony of visual expression and storytelling—provocative, dizzying and captivating. Its intricate drawings and layered narrative posses a lyrical exuberance, each illustration revealing a richly detailed, inter-connected world that engages with and critiques fabricated landscapes, urban environments, and the natural realm.”
Shi’s thesis advisor was Jeannie Kim, an associate professor, teaching stream.
The Daniels Faculty extends its congratulations to the alumni-founded architectural firms and alumni practitioners whose projects earned an Award of Excellence or Award of Merit.