Tsz Yan Ng is the principal of an independent architecture and art practice with built works in the United States and China. She also is an associate professor of architecture at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. She previously was the Walter B. Sanders Fellow at Taubman College from 2007 to 2008. Her practice, collaborative in nature and interdisciplinary in scope, ranges in scale from textile manufacturing facilities to commercial retail interiors or installations. Common to both practices are projects that deal with questions of labor in various facets and forms—underscoring broader issues of industrial manufacturing, human crafting, technology, and aesthetics. Her material-based research and design primarily focus on textile manipulation and experimental concrete forming, incorporating contemporary technologies to develop novel designs and innovative ways for building and manufacturing.
Ng’s work has been exhibited widely and featured in books, journals, and magazines. She received an R+D Award for robotic needle felting from Architect Magazine and an Upjohn Research Initiative Grant from the American Institute of Architects to explore concrete 3D printing. She also was the Reyner Banham Fellow at the University of Buffalo from 2001 to 2002. Her co-edited book, Twisted (Actar Publishing), was released in 2018.
She received her Master of Architecture II from Cornell University and her Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Professional Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Image 2 and 4 are taken from tszyanng.com.
Image 2 — Knit Casting_functionally graded knits for volumetric concrete casting in collaboration with Sean Alhquist and Evgueni T. Filipov, 2020-present
Technical Knitting – Tracey Weisman
Research Assistants – Mackenzie Bruce, Gabrielle Clune, Jeffrey Richmond
Knit Casting is generously supported through the Prototyping Tomorrow Grant Initiative from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, as well as a Small Project Grant from the University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR).
Image 4 — “Robotic Needle Felting”
Robotic Needle Felting was made possible through generous support from the Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, University of Michigan. Additional support was received through the University of Michigan Office of Research.
Principal/Co-Investigators: Wes McGee, Tsz Yan Ng, and Asa Peller
