China 2019

Dawson College Interior Design Student Trip to China in 2019

Two Interior Design teachers accompanied four Interior Design students to visit and interact with students & teachers in Environmental Design Departments in 4 Colleges or Universities in 4 different cities in China. The cities were Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.

The students participated in a 2 day design charrette at Suzhou Art & Design Technology Institute. Our students worked in mixed teams with their Chinese counterparts in Environmental Design (majoring in Landscape Architecture) to propose design & planning improvements to an actual outdoor courtyard site in an older urban setting where most of the residents are senior citizens. Our students had to use their social, oral, design and graphic communication skills to come up with co-designed proposals in 36 hours. These courtyard design improvements were presented to all the participating students, the 2 Dawson teachers, the Suzhou Institute teacher and their school director. Our students & teachers later took a Calligraphy class and a Chinese painting class.

We visited the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA), and met with students and teachers, and with high level design professionals from 6 disciplines at the TAO GROUP. These acclaimed designers and architects have private offices and also teach at SIVA.

The Dawson students also visited and interacted with teachers and students at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, where 3 of our students presented their Interior Design projects.

In Beijing our group met with teachers and students at Beijing Normal University, where our students were given a guided tour of a Calligraphy exhibition.

We visited many cultural sites, including the Urban Planning Exhibition Halls in Shanghai & Beijing, the Great Wall, and historic neighbourhoods like the French Concession in Shanghai, and contemporary buildings including the Olympic Stadium and architect Zaha Hadid’s SOHO project in Beijing.