在空间与人之间，坚持自我表达——高依伊的设计之路

英文标题：In Between Space and People - Yiyi Gao's Design Journey

在新西兰度过高中时光，如今定居纽约的高依伊，走过了一段跨越文化与学科的设计之路。从艺术到建筑，她始终关注空间与人的关系：如何让空间承载情感，回应社会与环境的诉求。

她先后在密歇根大学和哥伦比亚大学深造，如今作为一名建筑设计师，拥有从室内到城市的丰富跨界经验。在纽约的一所建筑事务所，她专注于室内建筑设计，近期参与了连接纽约中央车站的新地标商业空间室内项目。而在独立研究中，她不断探索空间如何成为文化、生态与生命之间的对话场域。她的作品曾多次获得国际奖项肯定，《The Word for World Is Forest》 的生态建筑理念受到国际评审高度认可，从来自 50多个国家、上千份参赛作品中脱颖而出，荣获 French Design Awards 金奖。另一作品《Earthward》 将生命循环与空间体验结合，赢得享誉国际的 Muse Design Awards 金奖的殊荣。

Having spent her high school years in New Zealand and now based in New York, Yiyi Gao has navigated a design path that bridges different cultures and disciplines. From art to architecture, she has consistently focused on the relationship between space and people: how space can carry emotion and respond to societal and environmental needs.

Gao pursued studies at the University of Michigan and Columbia University. Today, as an architectural designer, she brings rich interdisciplinary experience spanning interiors to urban design. At a New York architecture firm, she focuses on interior architecture, recently contributing to a landmark commercial interior project connected to New York's Grand Central Terminal. In her independent research, she continually explores how space can become a dialogue between culture, ecology, and life itself.

Her work has received multiple international awards. The Word for World Is Forest, with its sustainable architectural design vision, was highly recognized by the international jury and stood out from thousands of entries from more than 50 countries, earning the French Design Awards Gold Prize. Another project, Earthward, which integrates the life cycle with spatial experience, was honored with the Gold Prize at the internationally renowned MUSE Design Awards.

Q：你现在的工作主要聚焦在哪些方向？

目前我的工作重心在室内和建筑领域，我特别在意材质、感官与氛围如何塑造人与空间之间的情感连接。建筑是一门协作性的艺术，建筑师的角色是把想法转化为现实，在不同部门和领域之间搭建桥梁。不仅是服务功能需求，更要承担社会责任，让设计为人和环境创造价值。

Q: What are the main focuses of your current work?
Currently, my work is centered on interior and architectural design. I pay particular attention to how materials, sensory experiences, and atmospheres shape the emotional connection between people and space. Architecture is a collaborative art, and the role of the architect is to turn ideas into reality while building bridges across teams and disciplines. It's not just about serving functional needs - it's also about taking social responsibility and creating value for both people and the environment through design.

Q：你觉得你的作品有哪些特质？

我希望作品不仅解决功能问题，还能回应人们更深层的需求。我在哥伦比亚大学的导师 Vanessa Keith 是纽约的建筑师与学者，她的研究强调以设计回应气候危机，并通过生态未来主义与原住民未来主义的视角探索社会公正与可持续发展的可能性。她的理念对我的创作产生了深远影响。受其启发，我的研究型作品《The Word for World Is Forest》设想了一个亚马逊雨林中的未来社区。在这里，建筑与森林深度共生，不是强加于土地的外来之物，而是仿佛从大地与树木中自然生长出来。场地内形成自我更新的闭环系统，将森林重新定义为建筑、技术与社区生活的重要组成部分。这个作品不仅回应功能性需求，更试图触及人们对共生、归属与生态更新的深层渴望，并受到导师Keith及专业国际评审的高度认可。

另一件作品《Earthward》是一个临终关怀与陶艺治疗中心。建筑位于历史悠久的陶瓷古镇，我从传统陶窑汲取灵感塑造空间，用环形动线象征生命的循环。空间体验从幽暗逐渐过渡到光影交错的中庭和大厅，患者、家属与治疗师在其中共同进行陶艺创作，将治疗与艺术融为一体。建筑核心是一个中央庭院，庭院景观与周围自然相呼应，形成开放对话。下沉的陶艺档案馆与冥想空间则成为保存作品与记忆的所在，为访客提供精神层面的延续与慰藉。我希望《Earthward》不仅是一处医疗设施，更是一个象征性的容器：它通过交织临终关怀与艺术创作，提醒人们生命的终点并非结束，而是一种回归与延续。

高依伊设计作品 The Word for World is Forest，荣获French Design Awards金奖

高依伊设计作品 Earthward，荣获Muse Design Awards金奖

Q: What qualities do you think your work embodies?
My professor Vanessa Keith, a New York-based architect and scholar, emphasizes design-driven responses to the climate crisis and explores futures rooted in ecology and Indigenous Futurism. Her vision has had a profound influence on my design approach. Inspired by her work, my project ‘The Word for World Is Forest’ envisions a speculative Amazonian community of the future. Rather than imposing architecture on the land, the design imagines buildings growing organically out of the rainforest, forming a regenerative closed-loop system. In this vision, the forest itself becomes an essential part of architecture, technology, and community life. The project seeks not only to address functional needs but also to respond to deeper human aspirations for coexistence and ecological renewal. The work received high recognition from Professor Keith and international jurors, standing out for its integration of ecological imagination and architectural innovation.

Another project, Earthward, is a hospice and ceramic therapy center. Located in a historic ceramic town  and drawing inspiration from traditional pottery kilns, the architecture features a circular sequence symbolizing the cycle of life, guiding visitors from dimly lit areas into light-filled courtyards and halls where patients, families, and therapists engage in ceramic creation. At its heart lies a central courtyard that dialogues with the surrounding landscape, complemented by a sunken ceramics archive and meditation space. Earthward has been praised for its integration of end-of-life care, artistic expression, and symbolic spatial design.

Q：新西兰的经历对你有怎样的影响？

那是我设计旅程的起点。我在新西兰度过三年高中生活，当时的设计作品不仅登上了新西兰时装周的舞台，还获得了 Young Designer Awards 第一名，后来得知我是第一个获得这个奖项的亚洲人。作为新移民和留学生，设计是一种跨文化的沟通工具。在新西兰的经历让我坚定了走艺术与设计道路的选择，呈现属于自己的身份认同与表达。

Q: How did your experience in New Zealand influence you?

It was the starting point of my design journey. I spent three years of high school in New Zealand, during which my design work was featured on the stage of New Zealand Fashion Week and won first place in the Young Designer Awards. I later learned I was the first Asian-born recipient of this award. As a new immigrant and international student, design became my cross-cultural means of communication. My experience in New Zealand strengthened my decision to pursue a path in art and design, allowing me to express my own identity and vision.

Q：你从艺术转向建筑设计，这个过程对你意味着什么？

小时候我跟随三峡石画家王永庭学习绘画，他以在石头上作画闻名，那时我就接触到了艺术媒介的独特性。后来我在密歇根大学学习绘画和产品设计，再到哥伦比亚大学学习建筑设计，我发现无论是绘画、物品还是建筑空间，变化的只是媒介与尺度，但不变的是表达，我通过设计去发声，让自己的身份、思考与理念能够被他人感知和理解。

Q: You transitioned from art to architectural design. What did this process mean to you?

As a child, I studied painting under artist Wang Yongting, a renowned stone painter, where I first experienced the unique qualities of artistic mediums. Later, I studied painting and product design at the University of Michigan and then architecture at Columbia University. I realized that whether it's painting, objects, or architectural space, only the medium and scale change - the act of expression remains constant. Through design, I give voice to my identity, thoughts, and ideas, allowing them to be perceived and understood by others.

Q：你如何总结你的设计理念？

我始终希望空间能有“温度”。建筑师的工作，不仅是营造空间，更是传递理解与关怀。我希望我的设计能成为人们的“归处”，哪怕只是短暂停留，也能感受到这里的温度。

Q: How would you summarize your design philosophy?

I always hope that space can carry a sense of “warmth.” The work of an architect is not only to create spaces but also to convey understanding and care. I want my designs to become a “home” for people; even if only for a brief stay, they should be able to feel the warmth of the place.