Alexa Zhang
Say hello ↗
Hi, I’m Alexa.
I build the spacesI once searched for.
A curious observer, an artist, and a space maker.
Turning the way I feel the world into places
where people feel they belong.
Explore my world
come on in, there’s room for you :)
a little room
for big feelings
me, noticing the little things.
MY JOURNEY
Beijing
Wuxi
Shenzhen
North Carolina
CLASS OF 2027
finding a quiet corner, wherever I go.
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME
Learning to makea place that fits.
I was born in Beijing, grew up in Shenzhen, and always felt a pull toward Wuxi. Moving between places taught me to notice how a room can make someone feel: welcome, restless, or at ease.
Now I turn those observations into drawings, stage sets, and questions about the spaces we share.
10 years
of drawing, looking closer, and starting again
6 weeks
of architecture studio at Cornell
One question
How can a space help someone feel at home?
A FEW WAYS I MAKE SPACE
Every space has a story.
pick a little door
and see where it leads
IN FOCUS / LITTLE WOMEN
A home for a story.
Set designer & crew member
warmth, built one
detail at a time.
a stage that felt like someone’s home.
“Poor, but full of warmth.”
How could a stage feel like the March family’s home? I tested colors, proposed maroon patterned wallpaper, and hand-painted Jo’s bookshelf. During performances, I helped move furniture and manage scene changes.
Somewhere between the paint, the props, and the quiet backstage moments, I stopped searching for belonging. I was helping build it.
01 / Read the story
Translate a family’s warmth into a room.
02 / Test the feeling
Try colors and textures until the space feels right.
03 / Bring it to life
Paint, build, rearrange — and keep the story moving.
ART + SCIENCE / ONE CONTINUING EXPLORATION
Curiosity connects the dots.
The same question keeps following me: how does a space shape the way we feel?
Notice
Drawing is how I pay attention: to people, light, quiet corners, and the small ways we move through a room.
OBSERVATION + EMPATHY
Make
At Cornell, I explored Rhino, Grasshopper, laser cutting, and 3D printing — testing ideas by building them.
DIGITAL TOOLS + HANDS-ON MAKING
Ask why
My independent research uses VR and physiological signals to explore how interior spaces affect psychological restoration.
Research photograph / VR restoration study
OFF THE CANVAS
Small things. A whole lot of me.
The things I make when there isn’t an assignment.
not everything fits
in a portfolio :)
First blueprints
Small pieces, patient hands, and another way to think in three dimensions.
A little taste of home
Teaching myself to make Wuxi xiaolongbao, one batch at a time.
Made by hand
String, stitches, tiny gifts: quiet experiments in texture, patience, and care.
Room at the table
Bringing friends together for Chinese New Year, far from home.
And a notebook for everything I notice. Journaling for 10+ years.
“A space is never just a place. It’s a feeling.”
A LITTLE NOTE TO MYSELF
