Research and Adaptive Living visual study

RESEARCH & ADAPTIVE LIVING

SPATIAL EXPERIENCE DESIGNER

LILI ZHU

Creating thoughtful spatial experiences that reveal the character of a place through a contemporary lens.

Academic & Conceptual Work

Selected Projects

Selected Professional Work

Residential Projects

Design Approach

Exploring how spatial experiences can evolve through adaptive systems, connecting human needs, emerging technologies, and changing ways of living.

Work

Selected Work

A growing collection of professional, academic, and conceptual design work.

Academic & Conceptual Work

Selected Academic Projects

Professional Practice

Selected Professional Work

ABOUT

LILI ZHU

Lili Zhu is a spatial experience designer whose work bridges interior design, adaptive living, and human-centered research. With experience across professional practice, academic exploration, and conceptual design, she approaches space as a medium for shaping everyday life, emotional connection, and evolving patterns of habitation.

From concept development to spatial resolution, Lili creates thoughtful environments that respond to the character of place through a contemporary lens. Her work emphasizes material clarity, flexible spatial systems, and the relationship between human experience and emerging technologies, balancing atmosphere, functionality, and long-term adaptability.

SKILLS

AUTOCAD · REVIT
RHINO 3D · SKETCHUP
ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE
SPACE PLANNING · RENDERING

EDUCATION

PRATT INSTITUTE
INTERIOR DESIGN, 2023—2025

DONGHUA UNIVERSITY
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN, 2019—2023

RESUME

Lili Zhu

Zhu60712@gmail.com · 917-618-4730 · San Jose, CA 95133

Education

Pratt Institute

Master of Interior Design · 2023–2025

Modules include Lighting Design, Environmental & Sustainable, and Interior Design Regulations & Codes.

Donghua University

Bachelor of Environmental Design, Fashion Interior Design · 2019–2023

Modules include Residential Interior Design Studio, Architectural Materials, Furniture Design, and Exhibition Design.

Professional Experience

Team Metric Inc · Interior Designer

San Jose, USA · Full-time · Jul 2025–Present

Led interior remodeling projects from concept through permitting and construction coordination. Managed design development, consultant coordination, and city review processes across multiple Bay Area municipalities, focusing on practical, code-compliant, and well-integrated residential design solutions.

Pratt Institute · Teaching Assistant — Interior Design Studio

New York, USA · Part-time · Feb 2025–May 2025

Supported undergraduate interior design studios through student mentoring, technical guidance, and design communication. Assisted with design development, digital workflows, presentations, animation techniques, and studio reviews.

Arcplus Group (Int'l) Co., Limited · Designer Assistant

Shanghai, China · Part-time · Jan 2022–Apr 2022

Contributed to hotel and commercial interior design projects by developing spatial layouts and functional solutions. Produced 3D models and visual presentations using Rhino, SketchUp, V-Ray, Enscape, and Photoshop.

DOWNLOAD RESUME PDF

CONTACT

Let’s Connect

For professional opportunities, project inquiries, or portfolio conversations, please reach out using the details below or send a direct message through the contact form.

EMAIL: zhu60712@gmail.com TEL: 917-618-4730 LINKEDIN: Lili Zhu

Professional Work · California

14872 Bronson Ave

San Jose, CA 95124

Residential Interior Design

A warm contemporary residence shaped through open living spaces, layered lighting, natural wood, and a restrained material palette.

OTHER WORK

Professional Work · California

521 Windsor Dr

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Residential Renovation

A residential transformation focused on daylight, material warmth, and the relationship between indoor living and the surrounding landscape.

Before remodeling exterior — Exterior transformation comparison

After design exterior — Exterior transformation comparison

OTHER WORK

Professional Work · California

206 Scenic Dr

Redwood City, CA 94062

Contemporary Residence

A refined residential interior exploring sculpted circulation, soft neutral finishes, timber elements, and carefully framed natural light.

OTHER WORK

PROFESSIONAL WORK · CALIFORNIA

372 Elm St

San Carlos, CA 94070

Residential Interior Design

A residential project shaped through warm wood finishes, open living spaces, clear daylight, and a balanced California contemporary language.

OTHER WORK

ACADEMIC PROJECT

The Pulse Of The Earth

Hiker’s Shelter Renovation

Landscape Shelter Design

A conceptual shelter renovation that translates the pressure and distortion of varicose veins into a landscape-integrated architectural form. Designed for hikers along long-distance walking routes, the project provides places to rest, cook, sleep, and recover while addressing the shortage of shelters on the trail. Curved wood and slate structures emerge from the ground like vessels in the landscape, creating a safer and more restorative stop within the hiking journey.

The Pulse Of The Earth presentation page 1

The Pulse Of The Earth presentation page 2

The Pulse Of The Earth presentation page 3

The Pulse Of The Earth presentation page 4

The Pulse Of The Earth presentation page 5

OTHER WORK

ACADEMIC PROJECT · GROUP COLLABORATION

Equatorial Living Lab

Freetown, Sierra Leone · 2024

Sustainable Community Housing

A collaborative academic housing proposal for Freetown, Sierra Leone, developed through Pratt Institute and Fourah Bay College. The project combines contour-based planning, adaptable domestic layouts, shared community spaces, passive environmental systems, and locally appropriate materials to support affordable and climate-resilient everyday life.

Project Context

The project responds to the need for affordable and resilient housing in Freetown. Rather than treating low-cost housing as a reduced version of conventional construction, the proposal explores how community resources, adaptable spaces, passive design, and locally appropriate materials can create a more sustainable living model.

Site Conditions

The site is defined by natural slopes, dense vegetation, laterite soil, and nearby water sources, including wells, underground spring points, and streams. Poor road access, waste dumping, heavy-rain drainage, and soil erosion became key considerations in the planning and environmental strategies.

Site topography and sun path — Topography And Solar Orientation

Site condition analysis — Site Condition Analysis

Community Planning

Housing units follow the site’s natural contours to reduce extensive cut and fill while creating more accessible circulation routes. Homes are arranged in flexible clusters around shared kitchens and gathering spaces, with planted areas connecting private residences to the larger community landscape.

Residential Design

The residence is organized across three levels to support everyday living within a compact footprint. The ground floor combines cooking, dining, washing, storage, gardening, and semi-outdoor activities, while the upper floors provide living, working, sleeping, and additional storage spaces. Flexible partitions and efficient vertical circulation allow the interior to adapt to different household needs.

Stair analysis — Stair And Vertical Circulation Analysis

Climate-Responsive Design

Large roof overhangs provide shade and protection during heavy rainfall, while operable windows, permeable partitions, balconies, and vertical circulation support natural ventilation. The sloped roof directs rainwater toward collection tanks, integrating climate control and water management into the architecture.

Section ventilation strategy — Ventilation Section

Front elevation and rainwater system — Elevation And Water Storage

Exterior climate responsive rendering — Exterior Climate Strategy

Material Strategy

Material choices prioritize affordability, repairability, ventilation, lightweight construction, and reuse. Bamboo and woven panels form permeable or movable boundaries, timber supports a modular structural system, recycled plastic is used for roofing, and discarded tires are repurposed as planting infrastructure.

Materiality precedents — Materiality Precedents

Design Intelligence

The proposal integrates housing, landscape, water, and community infrastructure as one system. Its key innovation lies not in a single technology, but in combining contour-based planning, shared spaces, productive gardens, flexible boundaries, rainwater collection, and compact vertical living into an adaptable and resilient environment.

Integrated living system diagrams — Integrated System Diagrams

Community Vision

The project proposes a scalable housing model shaped by climate, terrain, local resources, and community life. By connecting private homes with shared facilities, productive landscapes, and passive environmental systems, it reframes affordable housing as an infrastructure for dignity, resilience, and collective growth.

OTHER WORK

Academic & Conceptual Work · Group Project

Re-envisioning The Museum Experience

Noguchi Museum · Pratt Institute · 2024

Museum Experience & Exhibition Design

A collaborative proposal rethinking the museum as a sensory, inclusive, and spatially layered experience through lightwell towers, immersive chambers, flexible exhibition systems, and curated encounters with Noguchi’s collaborators.

PROJECT WEBSITE ↗

OTHER WORK

Academic & Conceptual Work · Thesis Project

Radical Innovations

Pratt Institute · 2025 · New York City

Adaptive Interior Design for Future Urban Housing

A thesis project exploring future urban housing through office-to-residential reuse, AI-adaptive interiors, and responsive digital environments.

Project Opening

Abstract

This thesis reimagines residential interior design for changing work-life patterns, rising urban density, and the growing role of technology. Set within the underused office floors of 1633 Broadway in New York City, the project proposes an AI-driven adaptive living model for digital nomads and freelancers.

Residential units are placed at the building core and enclosed by AI-integrated digital walls that simulate natural environments and provide real-time personalization, while public and green spaces wrap the perimeter to support social interaction and ecological function.

Through modular layouts, responsive furnishings, and artificial intelligence, the project redefines the home as a dynamic, sensory-responsive habitat and proposes a scalable future model for adaptive urban living.

Design Question

Adaptive Domestic Life

How can an interior respond to shifting routines, privacy levels, and future urban lifestyles?

Urban Reuse Strategy

Office Tower Reuse

Vacant office space is transformed into a residential prototype that combines private living with collective urban programs.

Floorplan

Shared Living Framework

Living units, amenities, circulation, and green buffers are organized as one integrated residential ecosystem.

Adaptive Interior System

Interactive Surfaces

Layered digital walls and movable elements allow interiors to shift between work, rest, gathering, and retreat.

Unit Typologies

Flexible Residential Types

Unit variations test how compact homes can support different users, routines, and degrees of adaptability.

Interior Scenarios

Daily Life Settings

Each room becomes a responsive layer between domestic activity, media, atmosphere, and personal preference.

Interaction Details

Changing Conditions

Time-based scenes show how adaptive surfaces can alter mood, visibility, and program throughout the day.

Interior Detail

Unit Details

Enlarged hybrid and fully radical unit studies show how surfaces, lighting, and responsive elements shape daily routines.

Conclusion

Future Housing Model

This thesis reimagines urban living by transforming underused office towers into adaptive residential environments. Through AI-integrated digital systems, inward-facing living units, and shared green spaces, the project challenges traditional ideas of light, comfort, and habitability.

More than a retrofit, it proposes a scalable model for future housing—one where technology, nature, and human experience work together to create a responsive and emotionally intelligent home.