Ruo Jia is an architect/artist/theorist/historian/educator/activist.

Her research focuses on constructing a decolonizing postmodernist materialist space through the interweaving of “Chinese Experimental Architecture” and/or “French Poststructuralist Theory,” which expands to inquiring and envisioning the possibilities of Asian Feminist Architecture, and Posthumanist Sustainability. She is the founder and director of the research-based practice IfWorks, exploring art/architecture/activism possibilities individually Or collectively.

She is currently working on a book project Different Shades of the Concrete: Chinese Experimental Architecture Or French Poststructuralist Theory. Her writings have been published in journals such as Log, Pidgin, Time+ Architecture, Artishock Revista, KooZ , Brooklyn Rail, and upcoming at The Architect, Tangent among others; as well as included in volumes such as Radical Pedagogies, and Transposed Memory (upcoming). Her projects with IfWorks have been realized at the Shenzhen Hongkong Bi-city Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture (UABB) along with other occasions. She has publicly lectured at Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, City College of New York, Syracuse University, University of Hong Kong, Nanjing University, Freie Universität Berlin, University College London, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), College Art Association (CAA) among other places. She has taught history and theory of architecture and served as design critic at Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, City College of New York, and Pratt Institute.

Prior to this appointment at the GSD, she was Adjunct Assistant Professor at City College of New York, and is also Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Architectural History and Theory from Princeton University School of Architecture with an interdisciplinary humanities certificate from Media+Modernity, a M.Arch.II from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a M.Arch. and a B.Arch. from Southeast University School of Architecture.

She is chairing and presenting in a panel on “Asian Feminist Architecture” at the upcoming CAA annual conference in Februrary, as well as another panel on “Possibilities of Posthumanist Sustainability” in January with UABB and Archipelago, alongside her art/architectural installation “Fishing” in collaboration with Suchang Design. She/IfWorks has another collaborative multi-media feminist installation  “Hystera” upcoming in March at Princeton.

More information and links available at ruojia.info