Interview with Jing Lui

WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

Jing Lui

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CHOOSE THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE?

The built environment is where we exist. I felt I needed to understand its inner workings and underlying logic, and be part of shaping it.

WHAT TYPE OF WORK ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED IN?

I think the built environment’s relationship with the larger planetary environment is one of the most pressing questions of our generation. I’m interested in how architecture can play a role in it.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES SINCE OBTAINING YOUR ARCHITECTURE DEGREE?

So many! Having a voice in a largely white-male-dominated world, balancing raising children and professional development, and building a business in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL?

The energy. There was always so much to learn and explore. Never boring.

ANY CRITICISMS OF THE ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE?

I do think architecture education is still carrying a lot of the baggage of the previous generation – emphasizing too much on architecture as individual expression and teaching technical skills through standardized solutions rather than experimentation and innovation are two big ones.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

Asking the right question in every project.

WHO DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECTS?

Lina Bo Bardi, Kazuyo Sejima, Zaha Hadid.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BUILDING OR CITY?

Brooklyn!

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GET OUT OF YOUR AIA BROOKLYN CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP?

There is so much Brooklyn can offer as an experimental ground and case study for an equitable, humanistic, sustainable, and cool (!) urbanism of our time. I hope there is a chance to explore that.