Email: yshen0515@outlook.com | Website: yifanshen.net | Phone: 680-910-9190
My work investigates the transnational impact of infrastructure, urbanization, and displacement in the Global South, with a primary focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Combining empirical fieldwork, spatial analytics, and community-engaged co-design, I develop responsive spatial strategies and transitional infrastructure alongside marginalized and displaced communities.
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Master of Science in Architectural Studies’27 , urbanism domain
Syracuse University
B.Arch ’25, Valedictorian | B.A. in Music History and Cultures with Distinction ’25
GPA: 3.99/4.0 | Design GPA: 4.0/4.0
Renée Crown Honors Recipient | Phi Beta Kappa
Peer-reviewed Paper
Shen, Ivan. “Recording Transformation: How Cassette Culture Inscribed New Spatial Practices in 1980s China.” Thresholds: Records (2026). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Accepted Conference Panel
Shen, Ivan. “From ‘Friendship’ to the Corridors: TAZARA, the SGR, and the Spatial Politics of Chinese Infrastructure in Tanzania.” Paper to be presented at the panel "Infrastructures of Afro-China Encounters," Association for Asian Studies (AAS) 2027 Annual Conference, Boston, MA, March 20, 2027. (Accepted / Forthcoming)
Fieldwork and Research
MISTI Africa Research Grant
Two-month independent fieldwork in West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone) (Summer, 2026)
Fieldwork centered on urban informality and refugee settlements in Lagos and Abuja.
SOURCE Grant Research Fellow
Research project titled “Re-Imaging the Urban Informal Settlements in East Africa.”
One-month independent fieldwork in Kigali, Rwanda (Aug. 2023)
One-month independent fieldwork in Nairobi, Kenya (Dec. 2024)
Two-week fieldwork in Nairobi, Kenya (Mar. 2025)
2023–2025, Syracuse University
Distinction in Music History Thesis Project
“Staging the Extremes: Model Operas and Struggle Sessions during China’s Cultural Revolution,” interrogating the political space and sound in Contemporary China.
Fall 2024, Syracuse University
Syracuse University Art Museum Kaish Fellow
Used architecture and music to interpret live landscape paintings in the museum collection.
2023–2024, Syracuse University
Academic Honors
Syracuse University Scholar, 2025
Awarded to twelve top students for highest academic achievements. (12/6000)
Syracuse University Senior Class Marshal, 2025
Awarded to two students annually for campus contribution. (2/6000)
Syracuse University Commencement Speaker, 2025 Finalist (10/6000)
Syracuse University Remembrance Scholar (2024–2025)
Veinus Prize Best musicology paper in SU’s music history department. (2025)
Phi Beta Kappa Student Induction Speaker at Syracuse University (2025)
Crown Thesis Award Architecture Capstone Project “Made in China, Remade in Kibera.” (2024)
Alfred L. Kaskel Scholarship Solo Recipient of Highest Award for Academic Merit. (2024)
Peter J. Moore Award Solo Recipient for Excellence in Architecture Sketching. (2023–2024)
Maxwell Citizenship Scholarship Winner of a university public policy-design competition. (2020–2024)
Research Assistantships
Design Earth
Supervisor: Rania Ghosn (Associate Professor, Urbanism Program Director, MIT SA+P)
Spring, 2026. Cambridge, MA
MIT Critical Broadcasting Lab
Exhibition Production and Curation, Assistant Producer of the Podcast “I Would Prefer Not To.”
Supervisor: Ana Miljacki (Professor, MIT SA+P)
Sep. 2025 – Now, Cambridge, MA
Material Archi-Tectonic Research Lab (MATR Lab)
Worked in a team developing modular dwelling units. Supervised by Daekwon Park (Professor, Syracuse University SoA).
May 2023 – Jun. 2024, Syracuse, NY
“The Yang-tze River Dilemma” Harvard GSD Research Assistant
Assisted Angelina Zhang (MDes Ecologies) on a floodplain resilience fieldwork.
May 2024, Wuhan, China
General Architecture Collaborative (GAC)
In this not-for-profit office, worked on exhibition, housing, and urban projects in Rwanda. Supervised by Yutaka Sho.
Aug. 2023 – Jan. 2024, Kigali, Rwanda
Design for Biodiversity (Fieldwork on the Galapagos Islands)
Two-week group survey led by Julia Czerniak (Dean, University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning) et al. on island urbanization and ecological conflicts.
June 2023, Galapagos, Ecuador
Interactive Design and Visualization Lab (IDVL Lab)
Assisted Professor Bess Krietemeyer on a net-zero housing retrofit strategy project.
June 2022 – June 2023, Syracuse, NY
“Just 20 Feet” Research Assistant to Julia Czerniak
Assisted Dean Julia Czerniak (UB) on a biodiversity corridor project.
Summer 2022, Syracuse, NY
Teaching
Contemporary Urbanism Proseminar, Teaching Assistant
Seminar instructed by Rania Ghosn
Fall 2026, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Syracuse Architecture Final Review Jury
Nigeria film school studio instructed by Joseph Godlewski
Spring 2025, Syracuse University
Master of Architecture Studio Teaching Assistant
Option Studio instructed by Roi Salgueiro Barreiro.
Spring 2026, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
B.Arch Core Studio Sequence Teaching Assistant
Second-year Landscape Studio, Third-year Urbanism Studio, Visiting Critic Studio.
Fall 2022 & Fall 2024, Syracuse University
Summer Exploration Program Teaching Fellow
Led a 15-student session for high school students.
Summer 2023, Syracuse University
B.Arch Required Curriculum Student Tutor
Building System I & II, Arch. Representation I & II, Arch. History I & II, Architecture Theory.
Fall 2021 – Spring 2024, Syracuse University
East China Normal University Guest Speaker
Speech title: “Experience in Africa as a Chinese Researcher.”
Jan. 2024, Hangzhou, China
Syracuse Architecture Visiting Critic Studio Review Jury Fall 2024
Exhibitions & other Publications
Czerniak, Julia, and Nina-Marie Lister. “Telling Species Stories.” Workshop facilitated by Ivan Shen et al. at Student Conference on Conservation Science – New York. American Museum of Natural History, New York City, October 2024.
“The Suspended Garden.” In SPACE Vol. 1: Delirium, University of Southern California School of Architecture, 2025.
“Atriums in Architecture Schools.” GREEN ROOM: Syracuse Architecture Student Publication, October 2024. Syracuse University.
“Brand and Pop-up Structures.” Workshop assisted by Dean Michael Speaks. Syracuse University, Fall 2024.
Zhang, Angelina, and Ivan Shen. “The Yang-tze River Dilemma.” Presented at Climate-Resilient Development in Southeast Asia Conference, Harvard-China Project, Boston, July 2024.
“Islands and Soundscapes.” Curated exhibition as part of the Kaish Fellowship, Syracuse University Art Museum, May 2024.
“Rwanda Housing Project.” Composite illustration exhibited in Slocum Atrium Exhibition, curated by Yutaka Sho. Syracuse University, May 2024.
“Net Zero Energy Retrofit Living Lab Exhibition.” The Museum of Science and Technology (MOST), Syracuse, NY, December 2023.
“The Regime and the Opera House.” The Crown, vol. 1 (October 2023). Syracuse University.
Social Initiatives
Office for Our Common Home, Founder & Director
Humanitarian architecture and urbanism practice focusing on spatial research and community co-design in Global South cities.
Projects: Lindalva Inclusive School (Benin City, Nigeria, w/ Daughters of Charity, projected to be built 2028); Kibera Peace Photography Exhibition Design (Nairobi, Kenya, w/ KiCA, Dec. 2026); Refugee Settlement Spatial Improvement (Abuja, Nigeria, w/ Jesuit Refugee Service Nigeria).
Founded Jul. 2026, Cambridge, MA & Abuja, Nigeria
HAYA, founding member
Member of a team consisted of MIT graduate students, led by Stanley Adeposi (PhD Candidate, MIT DUSP), working a start-up focusing AI-driven renting platforms in high-inflation low-trust Global South cities, using Lagos, Nigeria as a pilot site.
Finalist, Hult Prize Nationals
Cambridge, MA, 2026
Leadership & Service
China SA+P, President
MIT SA+P Chinese Student Association, 2026-2027
MIT Urban Africa, Communications Director
Event planning and public engagement for MIT’s organization for research on African urbanism, 2026.
MIT Chapel, Music Director
Music Curation for the Tech Catholic Program, 2026-2027
Departmental Representative
MIT Graduate Student Council, 2025-2026
NOMAS Syracuse Chapter Design Team Chair
The National Organization of Minority Students (NOMAS) ,2022 & 2024
Social Media Coordinator
Syracuse Architecture Social Media Team, Sep. 2021 – present
DEIA Committee Representative
Syracuse University, School of Architecture, Elected Representative, 2021–2022
Professional Architectural Experience
Robert Siegel Architects
Worked part-time in the schematic design phase on multiple Higher Ed. projects.
Feb. – May 2025, New York City (remote)
Perkins&Will
Worked with the Design Director Eric Keune on projects in Higher Ed. and Healthcare.
Jun. – Aug. 2024, Boston, MA
Salazar x Sequero x Medina (SSM)
Assisted the principals on competitions for affordable housing projects and biennale pavilions.
Dec. 2023 – Nov. 2024, Madrid, Spain (remote)
Workshop/APD
Worked on D.D. and C.A. phases of single-family and mid-rise residential projects in NYC.
Jun. – Aug. 2022, New York City
Virtuarch Co., Ltd
Worked at the conceptual design stage on multiple educational projects in China.
Jul. 2020 – Jan. 2021, Shanghai, China
MILLIONS Architects
Part-time Photographer
Summer 2022
Design Competitions Awards (selected)
NOMA Student National Competition – First Place (ACADIA Award)
Project: “Promenade for Participation.”
Oct. 2024, NOMA Conference
AIA Central New York – Award of Merit (Student Work Category)
Project: “The Domestic Nomad.”
Oct. 2024, AIA CNY
HOME 2124 – First Place
Project: “The Domestic Nomad.”
Sep. 2024, Archiol Competitions
Skyscraper Competition 2024 – Honorable Mention
Project: “Farming Depot City.”
Jun. 2024, Evolo Magazine
Syracuse University Integrated Studio Overall Design Award – First Place
Project: “The Domestic Nomad.”
Jun. 2024, Syracuse University
Mass Timber Competition 2024 – Second Place
Project: “Elevated Commons.”
May 2024, SUNY ESF
Concéntrico Festival – The Street in 10 Years – Top 5
Collaboration with Salazar x Sequero x Medina, “The Shared Ground Floor.”
Apr. 2024, Logroño, Spain
Asian Design Award 2024 – Bronze Prize and Two Awards of Excellence
Apr. 2024, AAUA
LA Affordable Housing Challenge – Honorable Mention
Mar. 2024, The Builders
NOMA Student National Competition – Fourth Place
Led a 10-person design team, “Between the Land and Memory.”
Oct. 2022, NOMA Conference (Nashville)
Skills
Software
Revit, Rhino, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, Twinmotion, Acrobat, Microsoft Suite, Cubase, Adobe Audition, QGIS, SketchUp, Enscape, Vray for Rhino, Bluebeam Revu, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD, Premier Pro, Procreate, ArcGIS, Grasshopper
Fabrication
Lasercut, 3D Printing, CNC Milling, Casting, Basic Woodwork
Language
Native Proficiency: English / Chinese
Working Proficiency: Italian
Elementary Proficiency: Swahili
Updated October, 2026