Hi, I am Dr. Yiqiu Liu (刘奕秋), an urban researcher, designer and architect. I am currently a research and teaching associate at TU Munich and research coordinator at ETH Zurich for the Swiss Network for International Studies project The Production of Cloud, developing frameworks for the theorisation, design, and governance of AI infrastructures across the United States, China and Europe. 

 

In 2023, I received my doctorate from the Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich, where my dissertation was nominated for the ETH Medal. I hold a BA and MA in Architecture from Southeast University, Nanjing, with honors and distinction.​ I have been selected for the European Talent Academy 2026.

 

My research traces peripheral urbanization processes beyond the city and develops vocabularies and methods that transcend Western-centric models, particularly through studying contemporary Beijing under the lens of planetary urbanization and comparative urbanism. 

 

Beyond academia, I am a practising architect and urban designer with experience across continents. Our Gunan Street revitalization project won two awards at the 2024 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. I have been a collaborator on several projects with Christian Kerez over the past 10 years. 

 

My academic and professional pursuits focus on establishing a critical theoretical and methodological framework, for posing questions, seeking answers, and sculpting a dynamic path between architecture design and urban research.