HELLO!
I'm Ivan Shen, currently pursuing my SMArchS in Urbanism at MIT. I received my undergraduate degree at Syracuse University, where I earned both a Bachelor of Architecture—receiving the highest undergraduate achievement award—and a Bachelor of Arts in Music History and Cultures with distinction. Prior to studying in the United States, I grew up in Shanghai and graduated from the High School Affiliated to Fudan University.
My research sits at the intersection of architecture, urban studies, and music history, driven by questions about how spaces shape and reflect human experience. For my architecture thesis, Made in "China", Remade in Kibera, I spent over 70 days in East Africa's largest informal settlement, examining how Chinese infrastructure projects interact with Nairobi's informal neighborhoods. This work, supported by a SOURCE Grant and honored with the Crown Thesis Award, challenged my assumptions about these communities and revealed their remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of both extreme poverty and transnational development pressures.
In music history, I explored how performance spaces became tools of political control in my capstone project, When Entertainment and Violence Intertwine: Model Operas and Struggle Sessions during China's Cultural Revolution. This research, which earned me the Abraham Veinus Prize from Syracuse's Department of Art & Music Histories, deepened my understanding of how physical and cultural spaces can be weaponized for ideological purposes.
Design competitions have been a significant part of my academic journey—I've participated in over 25 national and international competitions over the past four years, earning more than 10 awards. Projects like The Domestic Nomad, which won first place in the "Home of the Next Century" competition, and Farming Depot City, which received an Honorable Mention in the 2024 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, have pushed me to think creatively about architecture's role in addressing contemporary challenges.
As design team chair for Syracuse's NOMAS chapter, I had the privilege of leading our team to first place in the 2024 Annual NOMA Student Competition and an honorable mention in 2022. These experiences taught me as much about collaboration and leadership as they did about design.
My academic achievements led to recognition as a Syracuse University Scholar—an honor given to just twelve students annually—and selection as a Senior Class Marshal, something I'm particularly proud of as the first Asian international student and first architecture student in the university's history to receive this recognition.
I've also sought to ground my academic work in practice, gaining experience across seven architectural firms on four continents—from Shanghai to Kigali, Madrid to Boston. Currently, I work part-time as a junior designer at Robert Siegel Architects.
This March, I was fortunate to receive offers from MIT SA+P, Harvard GSD, and Princeton University, all with their highest scholarships.
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News & Links
MIT Architecture - “Ivan Shen”
June 1, 2025
Syracuse Architecture - Britton Memorial Awards
May 12, 2025
Syracuse Architecture - “Yifan (Ivan) Shen Selected as 2025 Syracuse University Scholar”
March 17, 2025
Syracuse Architecture - “Architecture Students Win Visionary International Design Competition”
October 12, 2024
The Daily Orange - “2025 SU class marshals to prioritize student engagement, on-campus unity”
September, 2024
Syracuse University News - “Nzasi, Shen Named 2025 Senior Class Marshals”
April 23, 2024