By Edwin Kim
For Yaxin Sun, architecture has always been a dialogue between worlds. That dialogue just earned an international spotlight: Sun was recently named a Finalist in TerraViva’s “Easdale Ferry Office” competition, a global contest inviting innovative visions for a humble ferry terminal on Scotland’s Easdale Island. Her proposal—aptly titled “Orenda”—reimagines the tiny ferry office as a place where past and future flow together. Co-designed with collaborator Zijie Wei, Orenda preserves the island’s original stone cottage ferry house as a grounding element, then introduces a contemporary extension that seems to rise organically from the rocky landscape. Clad in slate and glass that mirror Easdale’s shores, the design creates an architectural conversation between old and new. “We wanted our design to feel like it grew from the island’s soul,” Sun says of the concept, “like a bridge between Easdale’s history and its possibilities.”
Sun’s design journey then took her from Chengdu, China, to Philadelphia, where she earned a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design. Immersed in Penn’s creative studios, she began exploring high-tech tools as a means to celebrate tradition. In one research project, she trained a machine-learning algorithm on intricate Islamic geometric patterns, then translated those ancient motifs into an avant-garde museum design. The process culminated in a 3D-printed physical model nearly a meter long, capturing how a flat arabesque could blossom into an architectural form. “Technology can reveal new dimensions in traditional architecture,” Sun notes. “It helped us see those ancient patterns with fresh eyes.” The project was exhibited on campus and even published in a design journal, validating Sun’s knack for marrying heritage and innovation. By the time she graduated in 2022, she had begun to forge a distinct architectural voice—one that speaks in algorithms and history books in equal measure.
Arriving in Los Angeles after grad school, Sun was eager to test her ideas in the real world. She cut her teeth at Stephen Phillips Architects, a boutique L.A. firm known for experimental designs. Thrust quickly into a lead designer role on a complex mixed-use project, Sun learned what it takes to bring daring concepts to life under real-world constraints. She juggled zoning codes, client meetings, and engineering puzzles—all while fighting to keep the creative spark of the design alive. “In school, I could float with my head in the clouds,” she says. “In practice, your feet have to be on the ground. But that doesn’t mean you stop dreaming.” Guided by mentor Stephen Phillips, she discovered how to “dream strategically,” balancing imagination with pragmatism. On one notable project, a multi-unit residence called Pink Post, Sun’s parametric façade designs and 3D-printed models wowed the client, but she also had to tweak plans to fit budgets and earthquake codes. The lesson from her mentor was clear: a good architect finds artistry through the constraints, not around them. “My boss taught me to always fight for the ideas I believe in,” Sun shares. “Good design can meet the rules and still inspire. It’s a negotiation, not a sacrifice.”
After honing her architectural fundamentals, Sun made an unconventional pivot in 2024 – joining Fluidity Design Consultants, a studio world-renowned for its inventive water features. All at once, water became her new medium. Instead of designing traditional buildings, Sun now choreographs fountains, pools, and cascades as spatial experiences. The change in scale and material gave her a fresh creative jolt. At Fluidity, Sun has helped shape interactive fountains for a science center and sculptural water installations for a luxury development in India. She approaches each with an architect’s eye: considering how a jet of water might guide a child’s play, or how a reflecting pool can anchor a public plaza. In one recent workshop, Sun found herself standing under the blistering Florida sun, watching how afternoon light danced on a splash pad her team designed. That field visit, she says, was revelatory. “Being on site changes everything,” Sun observes. “You see how people move through a space, how light glances off the water at 4 PM. Those little details spark ideas you’d never have in the office.” Back in Los Angeles, she folded those observations into the design, adjusting the fountain’s sequencing to make the late-day light sparkle for visitors. This immersion in water design has only deepened Sun’s belief that architecture, at its heart, is about engaging the senses and the soul. “Water has this amazing ability to transform spaces,” she muses. “It can be contemplative or playful, monumental or intimate. We’re really just beginning to explore its potential in design.”
“I love my job, but I realized I missed the free-flowing creativity that got me into architecture in the first place,” Sun confesses. “Competitions became my playground. They let me ask ‘what if?’ without the usual constraints.” Over the past year, that playground has yielded impressive results. In mid-2024, Sun’s visionary concept for an architect’s studio won First Prize in Archiol’s “Designer’s Den” competition, topping entries from around the world. Instead of a conventional office layout, she imagined a fluid, light-filled studio that could continually morph with its user’s needs – walls that shift to create privacy or open up for collaboration, platforms that double as galleries or gathering spots. “A creative space should inspire creativity,” Sun says of her design philosophy for studios. “I wanted it to feel almost alive, able to evolve as you do.” The jury praised the scheme’s blend of bold form and functional flexibility, a balance that has become a hallmark of Sun’s work.
Other ideas she’s explored in competitions speak to her versatility. For the “Domestic Revolution” challenge (where she won Second Place), Sun rethought the traditional family home as a living organism that adapts over time – incorporating sliding walls and modular elements to grow with a family’s changing needs. In another competition entry, she dared to design a house illuminated entirely by natural light and shadow, proposing open courtyards and reflectors in lieu of electric bulbs. That poetic experiment earned her a finalist spot in Buildner’s global “Home of Shadows” competition, and pushed her to consider light itself as a building material. And when confronted with a crumbling medieval fort in Italy for the “Reuse the Fortress” contest, Sun delved into research on historical restoration, ultimately dreaming up a modern community hub woven into the old stone walls. Her proposal won a finalist honor and was featured in the competition’s official Dossier publication – a nod to its creative blend of preservation and invention. “Each competition is a chance to prototype ideas,” Sun notes. “One project might focus on light, another on social spaces, but they’re all experiments in how design can improve daily life.”
With TerraViva’s recognition now shining a light on her work, Yaxin Sun finds herself at an exciting crossroads of art and architecture. In many ways, Orenda – the ferry office design – encapsulates the core of her voice: culturally rooted, technologically informed, boldly creative yet deeply respectful of context. It’s the kind of project that bridges continents and eras, much as Sun’s own life has. Sun stands as part of a new generation of architects who fluidly navigate between disciplines and cultures, tradition and innovation. Her work is unified by a desire to create meaningful experiences in space. “Architecture is ultimately about creating possibilities,” Sun reflects. “Whether we’re working with stone, water, or light, we’re really working with human experience.”
As she continues her journey – developing water installations by day and dreaming up competition ideas by night – Sun remains committed to architecture that connects people with place. Her designs do more than solve design problems; they tell stories and spark wonder. From a remote Scottish ferry outpost to the bustling streets of Chengdu, Yaxin Sun is proving that architecture can be fluid and grounded all at once – and that the spaces we shape, in turn, shape us.