{"id":39516,"date":"2025-06-24T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T09:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=39516"},"modified":"2025-06-25T02:39:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T02:39:01","slug":"arbor-vista-by-fan-liu-and-hao-chang-rooted-in-nature-raised-by-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/arbor-vista-by-fan-liu-and-hao-chang-rooted-in-nature-raised-by-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Arbor Vista by Fan Liu and Hao Chang: Rooted in Nature, Raised by Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Fan Liu and Hao Chang, architects based in New York and originally from China, combine emotional sensitivity and structural clarity in their work. Their project <em>Arbor Vista<\/em> reflects Liu\u2019s belief in architecture as social responsibility and Chang\u2019s passion for creating spaces people can touch, feel, and be inspired by every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1. Congratulations on winning the MUSE Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am an architect practicing in New York City with a background in urban planning. I grew up appreciating beauty through drawing, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fan Liu<\/strong>: We are architects based in New York, originally from China. I\u2019ve always been fascinated by how space affects people. As a child, I loved observing nature and the transformation of cities. Later, through studying architecture, I realized that design is a powerful medium to connect people, culture, and the environment. To me, design is not just about form or structure\u2014it\u2019s also a social responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hao Chang: One of the most profound impacts of architecture is that it physically exists\u2014people can touch it, feel it, and be inspired by it every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>, and calligraphy, and I\u2019m on a mission to bring more beauty to the world we live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2. What does being recognized in the MUSE Design Awards mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fan Liu<\/strong>: It\u2019s a great encouragement and a meaningful affirmation. I\u2019ve long been exploring how architecture can intervene in natural environments with a gentle yet powerful presence. The award-winning project\u2014a birdwatching tower\u2014is located within an ecological preserve. We designed it as an abstract tree: sheltering people, inviting birds, and symbolizing protection. MUSE\u2019s recognition reassures me that this design direction is needed, understood, and valued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hao Chang<\/strong>: It\u2019s a profound validation of my belief that design can transcend functionality to become a form of storytelling. This recognition fuels my ambition to keep pushing boundaries and reminds me that daring to innovate can resonate globally. It\u2019s not just an award\u2014it\u2019s a call to keep creating fearlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q3. How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fan Liu<\/strong>: This award has opened new conversations around ecological architecture, public space, and experimental structure. It has brought wider recognition within the professional community and led to inquiries from institutions interested in sustainability and cultural expression. It has also reinforced our team\u2019s confidence in exploring the relationship between architecture, environment, and spatial ethics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hao Chang<\/strong>: For my team, it solidified trust in our vision, fostering a culture where bold ideas thrive. Media features and speaking invitations have opened doors to advocate for sustainable, human-centric design on larger platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q4. What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fan Liu<\/strong>: For us, experimentation is closely tied to structural innovation. The awarded birdwatching tower is a perfect example\u2014it features a dramatic, tree-like structure formed by three interlocking triangular wood columns supporting a wide, canopy-like platform. This defies conventional post-and-beam systems. The form is both sculptural and structural, designed to embody protection and lightness. Through this project, I gained deeper confidence in bridging structural logic with spatial storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hao Chang<\/strong>: We build many physical models in the design process, with the belief that bringing it into physical form is the best proof that a bold idea can work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q5. What&#8217;s the most unusual source of inspiration you&#8217;ve ever drawn from for a project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fan Liu<\/strong>: The inspiration for this tower came while on a trail when I saw an old tree in the forest. Its trunk was incredibly slim at the base but still supported a full, wide canopy. That natural proportion deeply moved me, and I translated that upward expansion into architectural language. The structure echoes how birds perch and rest in trees, merging biomimicry with symbolic spatial logic. I often find the most meaningful ideas come not from architecture itself, but from quietly observing the non-architectural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hao Chang<\/strong>: We have other projects that are inspired by a melting ice shard\u2019s fractured light. Translating that into the tower, we carved apertures in rammed earth walls to channel sunlight into kaleidoscopic streaks, evoking ice\u2019s transient beauty. At noon, the floor becomes a canvas of light; by dusk, it fades\u2014a daily reminder of nature\u2019s ephemeral artistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winning Entry <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/design.museaward.com\/winner-info.php?id=28624\" class=\"external\">Arbor Vista<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Explore another journey of <a href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=39502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yingci Zhong<\/a>, the Gold Winner of the 2025 MUSE Design Awards. She crafts playful, meaningful experiences\u2014turning emotions and sounds into tangible moments. With roots in industrial design, her work invites exploration.<br><br><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fan Liu and Hao Chang, architects based in New York and originally from China, combine emotional sensitivity and structural clarity in their work. Their project Arbor<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":40328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[405,372,553],"tags":[360,12,382],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Arbor Vista by Fan Liu and Hao Chang: Rooted in Nature, Raised by Design<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winner interview with Fan Liu and Hao Chang for Arbor Vista from the United States, the Gold Winner of the 2025 MUSE Design Awards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/arbor-vista-by-fan-liu-and-hao-chang-rooted-in-nature-raised-by-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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