Renowned international architect and USC Professor Jimenez Lai, who represented Taiwan at the 2014 Venice Biennale, was invited by the Department of Architecture at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) and the USR “I-Villages: Urban and Rural Mobility Reconstruction” project. From December 18-20, 2024, he visited NTUST to guide final design reviews for architecture students in their third, fourth, and fifth years, as well as the final reports for the graduate-level Complex Systems course. On the final afternoon, he gave a public lecture titled “Fictions and Architectural Monsters,” sharing his work and thought process. The three-day event was conducted in English.
Several students who participated in the reviews shared that Jimenez Lai’s feedback was enlightening, offering a direct connection to international architectural discourse and giving them new perspectives on the meaning of “architectural design.”
Born in Taiwan and raised in the US and Canada, Jimenez remarked that this was his first close interaction with Taiwan’s architecture community since the 2014 Venice Biennale. He expressed high regard for NTUST’s architecture program, noting the students’ impressive presentations, whether in English, Taiwanese, or mixed language, which demonstrated both their strong technical skills and passion for architecture.
At the conclusion of his lecture, Jimenez encouraged the students, acknowledging their frustrations with the current state of urban and societal issues. He expressed optimism about the future, emphasizing that young people are the future and should continue to pursue beauty, resist apathy toward injustice, and strive to reshape the world through their efforts.
The event was organized by Professor Yunxiang Qiu, who is serving as a visiting scholar at USC in early 2024. Professor Qiu explained that Jimenez is highly regarded within the European and American architectural circles. Through his multiple discourses on spatial reality, surrealism, and transcribed realities, Jimenez is crafting a unique architectural voice closely connected with contemporary art. His work is supported and collected by prestigious organizations, including the Graham Foundation, Princeton Architectural Press, MOMA, SFMOMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Art Basel.
Jimenez regularly teaches architecture design courses at top US institutions, including USC, UCLA, Cooper Union, and Columbia University. This high-level academic exchange presents a rare learning opportunity for the talented students at NTUST’s Department of Architecture.