Ms Xinfei Zhao (she/her)
School of Architecture and Landscape
PhD Research Student
Full contact details
School of Architecture and Landscape
Arts Tower
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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My name is Xinfei Zhao, and I am currently a third-year PhD student in Architecture, specializing in gendered spaces in contemporary settings. Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as an architect in China for four years, where I focused on façade design. I hold a Master’s degree in Architectural Design from the University of Sheffield (2016-2017). In addition to my academic work, I have served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) at USP and participated in the Sutton Trust Summer School.
- Research interests
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Project Title
Gendered space in contemporary Beijing
Project outline:
The process of rural-to-urban migration has dramatically transformed urban landscapes, rendering cities more complex and multifaceted. Importantly, cities offer women opportunities for liberation. In the context of China, the significant demographic shift observed in 2022, marked by a declining population, coincides with trends of delayed marriage and childbirth. It seems that after so many years of living in the city, city has changed women as well. Therefore, the research seeks to understand how contemporary women are formed in the city, and what roles are city/space played in ‘her’ transformation. Specifically, it investigates how urban spaces reinforce or challenge gender norms and relations, using the concept of the wardrobe as a mediator in women's daily navigation between home and public spaces. Ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, are employed to gain insights into these dynamics.
Primary Supervisor
Co-supervisors
Date Started
16/09/2022