24 Jun 2025
The “Create Change Through Design” competition, a cross-university collaborative initiative between the Design School at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China?and the School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, focused on the power of design to address some of today’s most pressing socio-economic challenges.
It provided?a platform for students to propose solutions to emerging challenges faced by China, including the deepening property crisis, youth unemployment, the loss of business and consumer confidence, the rapidly ageing society, and growing environmental issues such as waste and pollution.
Participating students from Architecture, Industrial Design, and Textile Design programmes at both universities selected one of the core themes, and developed creative ideas that can contribute to meaningful and positive change.
Among all the projects, two of XJTLU’s projects were listed among the finalists, and four others?were shortlisted. The projects are:
- “Revival” designed by Sally Devina from XJTLU Department of Architecture: finalist project in the “Youth Unemployment” category
The project location is located at Kaixiangong Village, Jiangcun, Suzhou, China. It is located at the paddy field inside the area. The site history of Kaixiangong Village is related to the history of silk in China,?especially in Suzhou. It is considered to be the most important factor, because it influenced the rise and the downfall of the economic in Kaixiangong Village,?and it is?also?the location where the Suzhou First Silk Factory was built.
As this weaving workshop called “kesi” is the local Suzhou culture, it will help the youth to gain new skill therefore they can also open a weaving store in the future and can have a weaving artwork as well. It also gives the opportunity to teach at the workshop. Aside from opening job opportunity,?it also protects?the heritage culture of Suzhou and inherit it to the future generation.
- “Norman Women Co-housing” designed by Fayi Zhang, Ruoling Huang, Yu Guo, and Ziyi Jinfrom XJTLU Department of Industrial Design: finalist project in the “Ageing Society” category
By 2050, due to increasing gender disparities and severe population ageing,?“Women Co-Housing Communities”?will offer elderly women a high tech, compassionate,?and sustainable living environment designed to ensure comfort and harmonious blend of technology and human warmth.
- “INTERSTELLA” designed by Shujie Xia from XJTLU Department of Architecture: shortlisted project in the “Youth Unemployment” category
The design is future orientated, aiming at alleviating the youth unemployment problem from the beginning stage of the youth. INTERSTELLA is an architecture specifically designed for kids, encouraging them to explore the unknown. The architecture combines the interior and exterior space, allowing children to acquire more exposure to the nature. During the interaction with natural world, the kids will learn how to respect the world, embrace the beauty of nature.
- “Chord Cottage” designed by Qiuyue Xu from XJTLU Department of Architecture: shortlisted project in the “Ageing Society” category
The location of this project is located at Kaixiangong Village, Jiangcun, Suzhou, China. The ageing population and the loss of rural population are two major problems in this area. In response, my vision for Jiangcun is to craft a country musician’s tree?house that attracts?more young people to Jiangcun and adjust the rural population structure to alleviate the aging trend in rural areas.?This tree?house is a place where the echoes of traditional melodies blend with the harmonies of modern life, fostering a multi-generational dialogue.
- “Nexsee” designed by Hiyao Lin, Meitianzi Zhang, Siyu Lum,and Xintong Li?from XJTLU Department of Industrial Design: shortlisted project in the “Ageing Society” category
This design concept aims to address the mobility and cognition health issues that older people face as they continue to work in an ageing society. In the future, a scanning bin will be located at the entrance of the company, so that employees can stand in the scanning bin when they arrive to have their health tested and medication dispensed. The device will automatically dispense the medication, and by inhaling the medication,?older employees will receive a short-term boost to their mobility and cognition, thus improving their work efficiency.
- “Community Tea Hub” designed by Xiaoxuan Zhu from XJTLU Department of Architecture: shortlisted project in the “Business + Consumer Confidence” category
This tea house is envisioned to become a community hub in JiangCun Village, embodying innovation, empathy, and problem-solving abilities,?to address the challenges of business and consumer confidence in China and pave the way for future business development.
It aims to provide an open and inclusive space for villagers and tourists to exchange ideas, share experiences and knowledge?to enhance community cohesion and vitality. Additionally, this tea house serves as a platform for investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers to interact, share information, and experiences. It is designed to be a nexus of business activity and communal interaction. It can also host a variety of business activities, such as business forums and entrepreneurship lectures. These activities are designed to help companies better understand and adapt to the Chinese business environment, equipping them with the knowledge and insights they need to thrive.
Funded by Confucius Institute, the competition was organised by Mona Azadian?and Dr Mariia Zolotova?from XJTLU Design School, and Dr Ania A Drzewiecka?from?School of Textile and Design?of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.
By Yi Qian
24 Jun 2025