Practicing DEI in Architecture: Exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Across Public and Private Spaces

As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) becomes a globally significant social agenda, architecture—as a producer of social space—is increasingly called upon to respond to these values. This lecture examines three representative projects by Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects: the Shenzhen Longgang River Ecological Pavilion Building, the Shanghai XY Investment Headquarters Office, and the Shanghai Caoyang Centennial Park. Through the lenses of public, private, and community space, the lecture explores how architecture can respond to DEI across different scales and contexts.
    •    At Longgang River Ecological Pavilion Building, the design integrates urban ecology, water governance, and community service to create a shared, multi-functional platform—an inclusive green infrastructure that bridges various user groups.
    •    The XY Investment Office project in Shanghai demonstrates strategies for fostering equality and openness within corporate environments. Through a flexible spatial system, non-hierarchical organization, and the use of diverse materials and color palettes, the design dismantles conventional boundaries and strengthens a sense of belonging among teams.
    •    As a neighborhood regeneration experiment, Caoyang Centennial Park addresses how to create inclusive and equitable green space in a high-density urban context. Designed to serve the elderly, children, people with disabilities, and everyday residents alike, the park blends memory of the old railway with age-friendly amenities, play installations, and interactive zones—embedding “unconscious inclusivity” into everyday micro-community life.

Together, these three projects resonate to form a systemic and spatial translation of DEI principles, while raising a critical question:
How can architects foster psychological, behavioral, and social equity through the physical environment?