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Department of Architecture

 

Biography

Yu Zhang is an Assistant Professor in Architecture and Design in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Her research interest lies in exploring sustainable (re)generative structures in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry through digital technologies and sustainable processes.Her research endeavors to meticulously assess the ecological, economic, and social sustainability aspects throughout the life cycle of structures. The research objective is to establish a comprehensive and interactive design framework that fosters the creation of innovative, green, and high-performance structures, addressing the specific needs of target users and ensuring a thoughtful and impactful integration of technology in the pursuit of sustainable structures.

Yu has a multidisciplinary research background. Before joining Cambridge, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Engineering Design and Computing Lab at ETH Zurich, where her research focus was fabrication-aware design and optimization for discrete architectural assemblies. She also worked on an industrial project to build low-cost, sustainable compressed earth block (CEB) dwellings with local partners in Africa. She received her bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Southwest Jiaotong University and a master's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) specializing in structural optimization. In 2017, she worked in the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) team at Disney Research. Then, partially funded by NCCR DFAB, She obtained her doctoral degree in 2023 from the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zurich, with a thesis employing high-tech design, optimization, and construction for sustainable discrete structures in low-resource settings. 
Yu aims to leverage innovative and cutting-edge technologies across architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science to drive the building sector, in the UK and beyond, towards a net-zero future. Her previous collaborative projects, including cross-disciplinary and intersectoral research and community engagement initiatives, highlight her passion and ambition to work alongside distinguished peers and industrial partners on innovative, impact-driven research to address society's largest challenges.

 

Publications

Key publications: 

Journal Publications
Zhang, Y., Tatarintseva, L., Clewlow, T., Clark, E., Botsford, G. & Shea, K. A Template Design and Automated Parametric Model for Sustainable Corbel Dwellings with Interlocking Blocks. Developments in the Built Environment, 100148, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2023.100148.
• Lu, X., Liao, W., Zhang, Y. & Huang, Y. Intelligent Structural Design of Shear Wall Residence using Physics-Enhanced Generative Adversarial Networks. Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3632.
Zhang, Y. & Shea, K. Computational Design Synthesis for Fabrication-Aware Assembly Problems using Building Objects with Dimensional Variations. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 2022; 52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2022.101621.
Zhang, Y. & Mueller, C. Shear Wall Layout Optimization for Conceptual Design of Tall Buildings. Engineering Structures, 2017; 140: pp225-240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2017.02.059.
Conference Publications
Zhang, Y. & Shea, K. Sustainable Design Synthesis of Discrete Free-Form Structures Utilizing Existing Building Objects. IASS 2024.
• Aguilera, A., Zhang, Y. & Shea, K. Mobile Augmented Reality for Aided Manual Assembly of Compressed Earth Block Dwellings. eCAADe 2023.
Zhang, Y., Tatarintseva, L., Clewlow, T., Clark, E., Botsford, G. & Shea, K. A Low-Cost Sustainable Design and Fabrication Process for Mortarless CEB Dwellings. Future of Construction Symposium 2022. Poster.
Zhang, Y., Tatarintseva, L., Clewlow, T., Clark, E., Botsford, G. & Shea, K. Mortarless Compressed Earth Block Dwellings. ACADIA 2021; pp340-345.

Assistant Professor in Architecture and Design