Ms Xinfei Zhao (she/her)

School of Architecture and Landscape

PhD Research Student

Xinfei Zhao
Profile picture of Xinfei Zhao
xzhao32@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Ms Xinfei Zhao
School of Architecture and Landscape
Arts Tower
Western Bank
91Ö±²¥
S10 2TN
Profile

My name is Xinfei Zhao, and I am currently a third-year PhD student in Architecture, specializing in gendered spaces in contemporary settings. Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as an architect in China for four years, where I focused on façade design. I hold a Master’s degree in Architectural Design from the University of 91Ö±²¥ (2016-2017). In addition to my academic work, I have served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) at USP and participated in the Sutton Trust Summer School.

Research interests

Project Title

Gendered space in contemporary Beijing

Project outline:

The process of rural-to-urban migration has dramatically transformed urban landscapes, rendering cities more complex and multifaceted. Importantly, cities offer women opportunities for liberation. In the context of China, the significant demographic shift observed in 2022, marked by a declining population, coincides with trends of delayed marriage and childbirth. It seems that after so many years of living in the city, city has changed women as well. Therefore, the research seeks to understand how contemporary women are formed in the city, and what roles are city/space played in ‘her’ transformation. Specifically, it investigates how urban spaces reinforce or challenge gender norms and relations, using the concept of the wardrobe as a mediator in women's daily navigation between home and public spaces. Ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, are employed to gain insights into these dynamics.

Primary Supervisor

Krzysztof Nawratek

Co-supervisors

Iulia Statica

Date Started

16/09/2022