The What Cheer Flower Farm Team on Design, Sustainability, and Connection

Art and design have always been our passion. During our studies, we explored various media, including photography, painting, and drawing. These experiences have deeply influenced our approach to architecture, combining artistic exploration with practical design solutions.

Yuanyuan Cao is a graduate of Princeton University. Her primary focus in architecture is on culturally driven adaptive reuse and exploring the relationship between humans and the environment.

Haoyu Li is a Rhode Island School of Design graduate and an architectural and visual designer based in the Bay Area. He has a dedicated focus on developing holistic and interdisciplinary projects that respond to the community and environment, and create a balance between creativity and functionality.

Xiaoqi Shen is a graduate of Columbia University, now a practicing architectural designer in New York City, emphasizing human interaction and perception design within exhibition spaces. Her focus is on creating immersive environments that enhance engagement, integrating spatial dynamics to influence user experiences effectively.

Design is a human-centric tool that addresses real-world problems. It focuses on creating solutions that are thoughtful, functional, and responsive to the needs of both people and the environment.

We believe there is no single “favorite” or ideal type of design. Each design should be unique and tailored to the specific needs of the people or environment it serves.

 Good design is human-centric, comfortable, and functional. It should enhance the human experience both aesthetically and practically. Similarly, our mission in this project is to create a self-sufficient community that integrates farming, harvesting, processing, and selling, while fostering meaningful community engagement.

Our design approach is defined by simplicity and functionality. We began with the concepts of “weaving” and “interlocking,” translating them into a vertical green façade system that not only reflects the organization’s identity but also enhances energy efficiency.