Office: ENVD 148
Dr. Ping Xu is a Professor of Environmental Design and a Fellow in the Society of Applied Anthropology. She practiced as an architect in China for eight years. Xu is also a feng-shui consultant. She holds a Doctor of Design degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and both Master and Bachelor degrees in Architecture from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. She teaches a senior Architectural Design Studio, Architectural Graphics and Watercolor, and Landscape Design theory and Feng-shui. Under Xu’s instruction, her two students’ studio projects won AIA awards in 1993 and 2017.
Xu's research interests focus on systems thinking in integration of architecture and landscape design, comparative studies of feng-shui, cultural models in built environments and prehistoric landscape siting patterns in the US Southwest. Her current research emphasizes adapting to climate challenges, particularly in identifying the landform patterns of post-fire debris flow prone zones. Her research articles have been published in the top refereed journals in her field, including Journal of Architectural and Planning Research and Landscape Journal. Her publications are primarily in English with some in Chinese, and others translated into German and Portuguese. She won the DLA award in 2015 for publishing one of the best research articles in Digital Landscape Architecture in Bauhaus, Germany.