Fall 2019 seminar: M.Arch. candidate, architecture
Riana Tan is a second-year graduate student in the Master of Architecture program at Cornell AAP. Raised in Manila, Philippines, she witnessed firsthand the impact urban design and architecture have in alleviating problems of poverty, informality, and density in developing countries. Prior to pursuing her graduate degree in architecture, she obtained her bachelor of arts in urban design and architecture studies with minors in business and French from New York University (NYU). During her time at NYU, she had the opportunity to study in four of the university’s many academic centers around the world — Paris, Shanghai, London, and New York City — exposing herself to a diverse medley of cultures that influence the way she sees cities today. As part of her undergraduate studies, she conducted researches on various subjects, including the phenomenon of super-tall residential buildings in New York City, urban sprawl and satellite towns in Shanghai, and the adaptive reuse of abandoned churches in London. In her graduate studies in architecture, she is interested in the social and cultural implications that climate, postcolonialism, and economic inequality have on architecture and urban design and how an intersection of these two can create tangible solutions to better the built environment.