关于
关于
Hi,
my name is Hanzhang Lai!
(hahn-jahng)
I am a designer, researcher with a multidisciplinary background spanning architecture, visual practice, and communication. This breadth shapes how I approach ethnography, systems thinking, and synthesis, allowing me to move fluidly between lived experience, structural analysis, and strategic decision-making.
Trained at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (expected graduation in 2026), Syracuse School of Architecture, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, shaped by nearly a decade of design training, my work focuses on understanding how people navigate complex systems and translating research into clear, actionable insight.
Selected
Work
*click on image to view project details
Designing Community Engagement System and Strategy for Nashville's $3.1B Transit Initiative
strategy planning / public policy research / transit / community engagement
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Led research and design of a public-facing communication system, translating complex transit policy into accessible tools for residents and stakeholders.
Work was adopted by city leadership to guide the public engagement strategy.
Community Event Celebrating "in-between" Cultures
event & workshop curation / community engagement
A community event organized to celebrate "in-between" culture for the brazilian immigrants neighborhood in Somerville, MA.
Ethnographic Research on Community Ingenuity within Institutional Disaster Housing in Taiwan
field work / design research / ethnographic study / indigenous ecological wisdom
An ongoing ethnographic research project examining how indigenous communities adapt within institutional post-disaster housing systems.
"What if Steam Engine was Never Invented?"
speculative design / data-visualization / climate art
Using speculative design, this data-art project imagines an alternative climate history.
Exhibition Curation: Mad Rhapsody
exhibition curation / spatial narrative
Serve as a key member in leading the concept, narrative framing, and spatial design for Mad Architects’ first solo exhibition.
