Faculty

Di Luo’s research focuses on Chinese architecture and its many intersections with art, archaeology, religion, literature, and material culture.

Her PhD dissertation, “A Grain of Sand: Yingzao Fashi and the Miniaturization of Chinese Architecture,” studies the phenomenon of miniature architecture and its cultural significance in 1000-1200 CE China. Examples of the miniatures she examines range from Buddhist shrines and bookcases to reliquaries, architectural models, mural paintings, ceiling ornaments, and grave goods. Her study has been awarded by the Graham Foundation and generously supported by the University of Southern California, the Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, and the Harvard-Yenching Library.

Di’s work experience as an architectural designer and modeler in Los Angeles and Beijing brought new perspectives to her research and teaching. Her professional trainings in 3D modeling, 3D scanning, and graphic design have greatly influenced the way she approaches architecture and teaches her courses. In her classroom, students learn through interacting with an array of digital tools and applications and get hands-on experience of some of these technologies.

At present, Di is preparing a book manuscript on Chinese miniature architecture. In June 2017, she will present a chapter from the book at the annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians in Glasgow. Part of the photographs, 3D models, and other first-hand data obtained from her fieldwork in China have been posted on her personal website, Project CloudCastle, which is intended as an open-access online database of Chinese architecture. Another parallel digital project she is developing is Project Wellspring, which includes her own teaching portfolio and aims to provide free and high-standard educational materials on topics including Chinese art, East Asian culture, the Silk Road, and the global history of architecture.