The Embodied Metropolis
Zhenru (Kristine) Yan
Designer: Kristine Yan
Photographer: I-Chuan Lee
Model: Liliya

Kristine Yan is from Changsha, China and she is currently a senior at Pratt institute Jewelry Major. Kristine was influenced by architect Zaha Hadid and artist Eva Hesse in her undergraduate design and she mainly studied the relationship between future architecture and humans. What is more, she participated in the design and founding of the new jewelry line of fashion brand Yee Si. Besides, she has her own art blog on WeChat.
Float - copper, silver plate, nicle, arylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Float - copper, silver plate, nicle, arylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Bridge - silver, acrylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Structure - silver, magnet, acrylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
The map - silver, magnet, arcylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
The map - silver, magnet, arcylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Integrate - silver, magnet
By The Embodied Metropolis
Integrate - silver, magnet
By The Embodied Metropolis
Scaffold - silver
By The Embodied Metropolis
Scaffold - silver
By The Embodied Metropolis
Blue cable - silver, acrylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Blue cable - silver, acrylic
By The Embodied Metropolis
Links
Artist Statement
Influenced by Zaha Hadid, especially the Galaxy Soho in Beijing, space, light, and shadow have become a consistent style of my work.
Due to the impact of the epidemic in 2020, lifestyles and the ways of working have changed, and the birth of new technologies has pushed people to think more about their lifestyles of the future. In my thesis, I mainly study the relationship between people and architecture, especially how the architecture of the future will influence human behavior and promote well-being through modeling, form, materials, technology, etc.

My research centers on Architecture of the Future, where seven topics about future cities are mentioned. Among them, big data, human behavior, and co-working, co-housing influenced me. The impact of big data on human behavior shows that future buildings will use new technologies to be more flexible, adaptable, and consistent, while the concept of co-working and co-housing shows that buildings will have more functions in the future. The same concept can also be applied to my design.
In the use of materials, I referred to The Manifesto of Futurist Architecture proposed by Antonio Sant'Elia in 1914, which advocates the use of original materials and a minimalist style. I use silver and plastics commonly used in 3D printing. In one of my designs, I combine silver, acrylic, and magnets as materials to create a futuristic geometric shape bracelet and I invented a new clasp design. I hope that the epitome of futuristic architecture can be perfectly integrated into the bracelet that people wear daily so that the audience can always feel the beauty of light and shadow of architecture. Also when the bracelet is not worn, it is a very delicate miniature architectural model placed on the table.
The Embodied Metropolis