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Work by Davis Zhu

Davis Zhu Headshot

Student

Davis Zhu (B.Arch. '21)

Hometown

Vancouver, Canada

Davis Zhu is graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture and dual minors in Real Estate and Business Administration. Interested in the intersection of design, innovation, and finance to solve complex human problems, he’s worked as an architectural designer at KPF, investment sales analyst at JLL, and asset management associate at UBS. Eventually, Davis hopes to establish himself as a disruptive yet socially responsible designer, developer, and entrepreneur.

During his time at Cornell, Davis has experimented with different styles and avenues of design from a hermit’s dwelling on a fictional island to a 400-unit multifamily proposal in Berlin and a VR-designed mixed-use urban intervention in Flushing. His 5 years culminated with a thesis that challenges the role of the architect through partial equity ownership, suggesting that the architect’s reward be pegged to the performance of design instead of a fixed fee based on scope. As well, he analyzed the impact of firm operation through a series of Monte Carlo simulations and built a framework for a valuation tool designed for architects.

Infographic of time scales, circular patterns, and text.
[Arch]veloper: How Architects Capture Value of Their Work Through Equity JV, individual project and thesis, advisors Timur Dogan and Martin Miller.
A rendering of city block that is color coded, and the bottom of the infographic showcases different outdoor spaces next to buildings.
Flushing Commons, group project with Sahir Choudhary and Aishwarya Sreenivas, advisor Henry Richardson.
A three part poster that starts with an architectural diagram of a series of buildings, followed by a drawing that showcases floor plans of the building, and finally there is a two dimensional section view of the building.
Dragoner Areal, individual project, advisor Werner Goehner.
Architectural model with an angular structure in between a rock face.
Dwelling on the Gorge, individual project, advisor Dasha Khapalova.
A grid if many ink splatters and lines, with an image of a person using wires connected to their body to influence these ink splatters.
Drawing Machine, individual project, advisors Luben Dimcheff and Val Warke.

More Student Work

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  • Rendering of a train station with people waiting for the train.
  • Two moss sculptures sit on a gallery floor with a brightly colored rope painting hanging on the wall.
  • Infographic of a city center with colorful overlays depicting new project sites.
  • Infographic of building density patterns and how they have physical, fiscal, and social vulnerabilities.
Crystal Crown

Jane Jackson (B.Arch. '21)

The Ghost in the Machine

Group Work

Work by Hailey Morey

Hailey Morey (M.R.P. '20)

Work by Giselle Hobbs

Giselle Hobbs (M.F.A. in Creative Visual Arts '23)

Work by Jennifer Cao

Jennifer Cao (M.R.P. '20)

Work by Sauvanithi Yupho

Sauvanithi Yupho (M.R.P. '20)