Working in Paris allowed me to think a bit more conceptually. It was a nice environment and we’d cook together and share food at lunchtime. After I graduated, I worked for a small French studio. That brings me a unique perspective and I strive to create designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and user-friendly. At graduate school one of my teachers used to emphasise that we weren’t just building boxes - it’s important to consider how people go inside and how they interact with the space once they are in it. In China, my studies were more focused on plans, facades and the shape of buildings whereas in France I was encouraged to think about space and how people feel. Quite an inspirational environment for an architectural student! It was a great move because the National School for Architecture was based in an old stable building in the Palace of Versailles. I was drawn to the romance of Paris and I’d been learning French in tandem with my architectural studies. I completed my undergraduate studies in architecture in China before pursuing a master’s degree in Paris, France.

The office would have construction models on display, and they would draw the renderings by hand, which fascinated me. I became interested in architecture when I was in primary school because every day after school I would go to my mother’s office to wait for her to finish. My father worked in chemical engineering and my mother was a mechanical engineer. It’s like a ‘little Mongolia’, with a large Mongolian population. When I was a child I lived in a small town called Hohhot, to the west of China, close to the border with Mongolia.

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