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Yichang Dai
(he/him)
BA (Beijing, Architecture), MSc (Milan, Architecture and Urban Design), PhD (Cardiff, Architecture)
Teams and roles for Yichang Dai
Research student
Overview
Yichang Dai started his research journey at Cardiff University from Oct. 2024. He obtained his master degree in Architecture and Urban Design in Politecnico di Milano, Italy in 2024. He completed the bachelor study in Architecture at Beijing University of Technology, China in 2021. The transnational study and project experience has shaped his perspective in Architecture, Urban Design and Heritage studies in an international trace.
In 2020, Yichang Dai participated in the collection and exhibition of the projects for the Egyptian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale as a student participant on behalf of Politecnico di Milano. This project explores bridging the gap between the living and heritage cities of the archaeological village of Tel Amarna in central Egypt and has inspired his current research. In addition, his research in Milan on Italian heritage and the application of digital technologies to architectural heritage have also shaped his research direction.
His research interests lie on the intersection of world heritage studies in China, community participation and digital heritage. By exploring the dynamic relationship between digital tools and multiple actors within the digital transformation of World Heritage sites, would like to investigate the driving factors of the digitalization of the world heritage properties and identify the roles of the participants, especially those on sites.
Publication
2025
- Prizeman, O., Sharifi, S., Dai, Y. and Balzano, B. 2025. Evaluating rapid data acquisition methods for structural analysis of a church at risk from climate change induced subsidence. Presented at: CIPA 2025 SEOUL, Seoul, South Korea, 25-29 August 2025, Vol. XLVIII. Vol. 9. pp. 1205-1212., (10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1205-2025)
Conferences
- Prizeman, O., Sharifi, S., Dai, Y. and Balzano, B. 2025. Evaluating rapid data acquisition methods for structural analysis of a church at risk from climate change induced subsidence. Presented at: CIPA 2025 SEOUL, Seoul, South Korea, 25-29 August 2025, Vol. XLVIII. Vol. 9. pp. 1205-1212., (10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1205-2025)
Research
Yichang Dai's research is aimed to explore the dynamic relationship between local communities and digital technologies in the context of the digital transformation of World Heritage sites in China. To reveal the complex inherent socioeconomic and political nature of the digital transformation of World Heritage sites in China, this research seeks to capture the mutual impact between local communities and emerging digital tools in this digital turn and discuss the potential methodologies for local communities to engage with this process for greater digital inclusivity and benefits.
The research is be built on the territory of world heritage studies, community participation, digital heritage and digital community participation in heritage fields. It is aimed to sketch the intersection of digital heritage and community participation against China’s complex heritage context. The key issue this research aims to explore is the dynamic relationship between local communities of World heritage sites in China and digital technologies emerging in the digital transformation process. The research seeks to refer the digitization of world heritage sites in China as a “black box” in science and technology study (STS). Digitization of world heritage can not be simply understood as a technological revolution, the internal structure of this “science in making” process – the mutual impact between diverse human actors, especially local communities, and digital tools needs to be perceived. The technical divides which are created by the digitization process and could possibly impose influences on the participation of certain communities, require a methodological bridge.
His research will be based on 3 World Heritage sites in China with various focuses including public crowdsourcing of urban heritage and the exploration of interpreting cultural heritage in interactive forms to enhance participatory level of communities.
Teaching
Graduate Tutor - 25/26-AR2007 Architecture in Context
Teaching Assistant - 24/25-MSc Sustainable Building Conservation
Supervisors
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Digital heritage
- Public participation and community engagement
- World Heritage