Statement

As a landscape architectural designer practicing in the urban environment for years, I am drawn to the duality between how landscapes are shaped by natural processes and how they are constructed by human technologies. We readily recognize the ways rivers carve valleys or plants reclaim abandoned ground, but the mechanisms through which humans build and maintain landscapes—drainage systems, grading, soil engineering, hidden infrastructures—often remain unseen, existing beneath the surface of experience.

My work for this exhibition explores that visible and invisible layers of landscape: the abstract systems and engineered interventions that underpin the landscapes we move through every day. Through photographs, drawings, and renderings, the works presented highlight both the physical and conceptual layering inherent in fabricated landscapes. They invite viewers to consider how landscapes are mediated by design decisions, technical operations, and cultural narratives, while also questioning what is lost, gained, or obscured in the process.

This work is both a meditation and an unveiling—an invitation to see the landscapes around us not only as surfaces of beauty or function, but as layered constructions where human intention and natural force continuously shape one another.

Bio

Qi An is an emerging landscape architectural designer based in Brooklyn with a distinguished professional background spanning over a decade. She has contributed to projects across public, institutional, and urban landscapes, shaping environments that foster resilience, cultural identity, and community well-being.

Qi’s design philosophy is rooted in sustainability and the interrelationship between nature and human habitat. Her work seeks to create spaces that not only respond to environmental challenges but also celebrate cultural narratives and foster inclusivity. By balancing ecological systems with the needs of diverse communities, she advances landscapes that are both resilient and meaningful.

Her academic background includes a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Tongji University in China.

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