Li Dai

Li Dai is the recipient of the SOM Foundation 2016 China Prize for Travel/ Research. Having grown up in Wuhan, China, Li received her Bachelor of Engineering Degree in 2016 from Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Having had previous travel experiences in South Asia as well as several stays in temples, Li has been interested in under-represented groups and inspired by Critical Regionalism in Asia. Li’s Travel/ Research project – “The relationship between public space and religions in urban South Asia”- will provide her an opportunity to explore how the three elements - religion, space and user - influence each other and more specifically, to study the relationship between Delhi with Hinduism, Colombo with Buddhism and Dhaka with Islamism. These case studies will serve as an inspiration for the development and design of public spaces of similar conditions in South Asia.

Since August 2016, Li has been pursuing her master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where she will spend the next two years. Based on the attention to materials and fundamental technologies, she has been working on human-experience design in landscape architecture on different scales. Moreover, the various selections of open electives at RISD will give her the opportunity to expand her interests in illustration, web design and graphic design.

Following completion of her studies at RISD, Li plans to gain professional experiences in design and management at landscape architecture offices around the world, with long-term career aspirations focused on setting up an independent landscape architecture office concerning Asian ecological and cultural identities.