In-Class Lecture | John Chunhan Lin AR'02: Rural Urban Framework

This event will be conducted in-person in room 315F and through Zoom.
For Zoom attendance, please register in advance here.

The lecture is part of Nora Akawi and Brad Samuels’ ARCH 151 B.Arch Thesis as well as Diana Agrest and Foivos Geralis’ ARCH412 Graduate Design. This event will begin with a presentation by John Lin, co-founder of Rural Urban Framework (RUF), about the intersection of design, policy, and community-driven development in rural China and Mongolia. Lin will discuss RUF’s role in designing and constructing schools, hospitals, community centers, and infrastructure that support sustainable rural transformation.

A class conversation and Q&A will follow the presentation.

John Chunhan Lin AR’02 is a Professor at The University of Hong Kong and co-founder of Rural Urban Framework, a research and design collaborative that provides architectural services to NGOs and charities. His work focuses on sustainable rural development and the evolving relationship between urban and rural environments. His book, As Found Houses (2021), explores rural self-building practices and was awarded the RIBA President’s Medal for Research. His designs have been acquired by MoMA, The Design Museum, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Lin is the 2025 recipient of the CUAA John Q. Hejduk Award.

This event is open to current Cooper Union students, faculty, and staff.

Host or Publisher WNYC and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art