Pinyi Liu
About Me
I am currently a PhD candidate at Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. I completed both my undergraduate and Master’s degrees at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. My academic and design work examines the intersections of architecture, urban planning, and landscape with themes of colonial hegemony, cultural influence, economic power, resource exploitation, and geopolitics, as well as issues of displacement, refugees, commemoration, and broader humanistic concerns.
Through an interdisciplinary approach, I explore how architectural and landscape practices both respond to and shape complex social, historical, and geopolitical dynamics, particularly within colonial and post-colonial contexts. My research seeks to connect design practice with critical insights into the cultural narratives and power structures that influence the built environment.
Project Title
Geopolitical Hegemony and Resource Exploitation: The Strategic Role of the South Manchuria Railway in Japan’s Military and Colonial Expansion in Northeast China, 1904–1945
Project Description
This research investigates Japan’s strategic use of the South Manchuria Railway to exploit resources in Northeast China between 1904 and 1945. Focusing on architectural complexes and infrastructure related to extraction, processing, transportation, storage, and sales, this study examines how these built environments facilitated Japan’s military objectives and consolidated its colonial control in the region. Through an interdisciplinary framework that incorporates archival analysis, architectural study, and geopolitical theory, this project seeks to reveal the ways in which spatial practices and infrastructure were instrumental in advancing Japan’s colonial and military ambitions across Northeast China.
Supervisors
Qualifications
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MLA Landscape Architecture
Contact