Yixuan Cai

Since a young age, I've been fueled by a passion to actively create and shape my surroundings. Engaging in hands-on projects, renovating and rearranging my personal space, and crafting intricate paper models have been sources of joy for me. The transformative power of a designer's ability to bring the most imaginative ideas to life has always captivated me.

As a somewhat introverted individual, I've discovered that I find greater freedom in expressing my values through design than through verbal communication. I want to dedicate my career to making our surroundings a better and more exciting place than when we first encountered them, and leaving a lasting impact for those who experience it.

Most of my personal work could be viewed at https://www.cai-yixuan.com. My work centers at the intersection of logical tectonic composition and fictional abstraction of natural surroundings. I draw inspiration from the intricate process of interweaving seemingly disparate elements into a harmonious and heterogeneous whole. Through my work, I've envisioned a future living environment that is not solely influenced by the rapid advancement of digital technology but is also shaped by an alternative manifestation of the natural world. This concept was illustrated in the work “Prosthetic Landscape” as well as “Traces”. Motion and movement serve as the conduits establishing connections between the digital representation and the tangible physicality, accentuating the process of making and growth. Such idea was illustrated in works like “Stage Magic” and “Daitioi”.

To me “design” means to solve problems, to respond to needs, and to realize imagination in an artistic and also efficient way that communicates values. It is an active interaction with our surroundings and eventually elevated them. It is an interdisciplinary practice generated from curiosities and discoveries.

I'm particularly drawn to designs that establish meaningful connections between humans and nature, such as biophilic design, bionic design, solarpunk, and sustainable design. I always love experiencing and exploring nature. Having existed and thrived on this planet long before humans, it serves as an abundant source of inspiration and wisdom. In my perspective, embracing the gifts that nature provides allows for the creation of design schemes that are not only logical, organic but also inherently sustainable and resonate with our deeper roots.

A good design should solve problems first, efficiently and sustainably. but then it is more important for it to evoke emotional reflection and to help people see what they didn’t notice before. It should spark imagination and passion for a promising future.

Looking at the contrast between the hyper-urban system of the Rosario city across the Parana Delta and the hyper-rural island that have various natural species preserved, I want to develop a project that could establish a conversation between the two distinct scenarios. I’m always interested in the idea of “infrastructure” and setting up “systems” in the urban design realm. Therefore the mutant honeycomb system becomes the starting point of the project “Prosthetic Landscape”. After several form tests I was able to find a balance between nature abstraction and mechanical motion. This is the backbone of the whole project.

Local natural species are my main source of inspiration. For example the hexagonal infrastructure grid is the result of a series of form mutations of honeycombs; truss structures are abstractions and alignment of bird feathers; theater spaces draw their roots from the organic formation of stones. This is an experimentation of how nature and man-made artifacts could seamlessly blend in to evoke reflections on human impacts.

Definitely. I was born in Nanjing, China - a city where traditional wood palaces harmoniously coexist with modern skyscrapers. I spent a lot of time during childhood lingering at museums that are often built as restoration of relics from ancient architecture. The intricate spatial qualities with blend-in courtyards and exquisite structural details gradually ignited my passion for architecture and the surrounding environment. I couldn’t stop daydreaming about the stories that might have unfolded within these enchanting places. This experience has forged my design focus on our relationship with nature heritage and storytelling to a great extent.

It’s a great honor to receive this award. It is an encouragement of my ongoing passion for future creative endeavors. I feel pumped about how design and architecture could extend its limit in various realms and make tomorrow inspiring.

“Prosthetic Landscape” is a conceptual master planning project located at the Parana Delta in Rosario, Argentina, an intersection of urban and rural context. It envisions a post-anthropocene future where nature species gain their dominance over the years and begin to submerge themselves into man-made environments. The project orient itself at the discussion of the level of imprints from human traces onto the natural form and vice versa. The project was finished in 2021, during the peak of the pandemic quarantine. I think it is meaningful to enter this project into the London Design Awards for an alternative perspective it has offered us to see when we were confined to our homes. The project prompts contemplation on the transformative impact nature can exert on what was once exclusively human territory.

Main challenge in this award-winning project as well as my other projects was always the balance between functionality and aesthetic pursuit. A lot of my projects focus on envisioning a fictional scenario. I often find myself having to substantiate their functionality and practicality. To overcome this challenge I run many tests to find the most efficient version under my aesthetic framework, but also at the same time return to basic architectural tectonic logic and search for innovative material solutions.

I will be more confident in pursuing the fictional narrative of architecture and urban design. I will also continue my exploration in shaping more possibilities and applications of the relationship between natural organisms and human interaction. This award could be a starting point of my planning to evolve this concept into a series of design products that could create an environment and lifestyle that integrates nature heritage seamlessly and imaginatively.

Job is different for each day. Get exposed to new and exciting things constantly.
Value for imagination and creativity.
Flexible schedule.

Fictionality and storytelling. I always try to envision scenarios and context for my design and let them impact each other. I want to use design to unveil what hasn’t been seen in real life but in a human's wildest imagination.

AI and sustainability are definitely two trends that are roaming now. I think within the next 5-10 years AI would help improve efficiency in early stages of design. I don’t think AI will replace the designer's role but become more of a collaborator. While technical difficulties could mostly be overcome by AI, I think the imagination of designers becomes even more important since AI could only learn from existing data. Focus will also shift to a tangible use of innovative and sustainable material, which could not be replicated by any digital representation.

Don’t be afraid to break the boundary and think outside of the box. Try making ties between seemingly unrelated entities. Observe closely and be sensitive to our daily surroundings.

Youtube has a lot of well-rounded tutorials on Rhino and Grasshopper that help me a lot when I’m self-learning. Also I use Houdini a lot. A good resource for that is Entagma.

I’ve always wanted to build the moving stairs model of Hogwarts.

Yoshiki, a Japanese musician who successfully combines classical and rock genres. I get inspired from his bold attitude, innovative spirit and diligent working ethic to break traditional limits. I aspire to channel similar approaches within the realms of design and architecture, where organic forms could intertwine with construction logics.

Curiosity and passion.