Dr Lui Tam
(she/her)
BA (Archaeology), MSc (Conservation of Monuments and Sites), PhD (Architecture)
Lecturer in Architectural History
- TamL@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29225 14823
- Bute Building, Room 3.09, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Lecturer in Architectural History at the Welsh School of Architecture since 2022. My experience and expertise stand at the interdisciplinary crossroads of architecture, archaeology, urban planning, and heritage studies. I have been studying, researching, and practising within the field of the historic built environment for the past 15 years. I hold a PhD in Architecture from the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. Before joining the WSA, I practised as a heritage conservation planner in China and as a consultant for sustainable heritage tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos. My current research and teaching focus on the areas of heritage, architectural history, and sustainability. I am keen to contribute to the internationalisation and democratisation of architectural history. As an educator, I am passionate about creating an interdisciplinary syllabus for architectural history through active learning. I am currently enthusiastically exploring a newfound interest in inclusive architecture - how understanding neurodiversity can help us create a genuinely inclusive built environment.
I care deeply about EDI issues and am the director of the EDI Committee. I am also deputy lead of the History Heritage & Conservation Research Group and the Academic Misconduct Coordinator at the Welsh School of Architecture (WSA). I am an editor and translator for the academic journals Heritage Architecture (Chinese-English bilingual) and Built Heritage (Springer), the associate editor for Asia of Planning Perspectives (Taylor & Francis), and a peer-reviewer for various academic journals, including the Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering (Taylor & Francis), Built Heritage (Springer Nature), MDPI journals Heritage, Religions, Land, and Asian Development Perspectives (South Korea’s National Research Foundation).
Besides my primary profession, I also find my passions in conceptual photography, illustration, film-making, music, and specialised tour guiding with a heritage focus.
Publication
2024
- Tam, L. 2024. Heritage regeneration, planning, and resistance –the Bell and Drum Towers area in Beijing. Presented at: The (High Density) Metropolis and Region in Planning History, Hong Kong, China, 2-5 July 2024Proceedings of the 20th International Planning History Society Conference, Vol. 20. Vol. 1. TU Delft Press pp. 325-342., (10.7480/iphs.2024.1.7607)
- Tam, L. 2024. A controversial make-over of a ‘make-believe’ heritage—The transformation of Guangrenwang Temple. Architecture 4(2), pp. 416-444. (10.3390/architecture4020023)
- Liu, D., Tam, L. and Li, Y. 2024. Water Tower Home transformation: bottom-up urban regeneration through a reality TV show. Built Heritage 8, article number: 13. (10.1186/s43238-024-00125-4)
- Tam, L. 2024. A relational and interdisciplinary framework for sustainability and heritage. Presented at: Sustainability Multidisciplinary Meet-up: SHAPEing Net Zero, UWE Bristol, 16 April 2024.
2023
- Davis, J. and Tam, L. 2023. The making and remaking of a Welsh mining landscape and village: Onllwyn, Cwm Dulais, 1876‐2023. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
- Prizeman, O., Davis, J. and Tam, L. 2023. Digitisation of retreating industrial heritage; modelling the decommissioning of the coal washeries of Onllwyn. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLVIII(M 2), pp. 1251-1260. (10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-2-2023-1251-2023)
- Tam, L., Davis, J. and Prizeman, O. 2023. The making and remaking of the Onllwyn industrial landscape - Change as an opportunity for resilience. Presented at: ICOMOS GA2023 - Historic Urban Contexts & Industrial Heritage: Case Studies in Resilience, Sydney, Australia, 31August - 9 September 2023.
2022
- Tam, L. 2022. Sustainable heritage management in contemporary China. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
- Tam, L. 2022. Part III - Employment and opportunities. In: Bernstock, P. et al. eds. State of the Legacy - Reviewing A Decade of Writing on the 'Regeneration' Promises of London 2012. UCL Urban Laboratory, pp. 65-78.
2021
- Tam, L. and Harrison, R. 2021. A Conversation with Rodney Harrison on Heritage: Critical Approaches. Heritage Architecture, pp. 148-154. (10.19673/j.cnki.ha.2021.04.015)
2019
- Tam, L. 2019. Something more than a monument—the long-term sustainability of rural historic temples in China. Religions 10(4), pp. 1-22. (10.3390/rel10040289)
2018
- Tam, L. 2018. The revitalization of Zhizhu Temple. In: Maags, C. and Svensson, M. eds. Chinese Heritage in the Making: Experiences, Negotiations and Contestations. Asian Heritages Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, pp. 245-268., (10.2307/j.ctt2204rz8.13)
2017
- Tam, L. 2017. World Heritage for whom? Sustainable heritage tourism and community development of Luang Prabang. In: Santos, J. R. d. ed. Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your Way or My Way?. Caleidoscopio, pp. 723-732.
Articles
- Tam, L. 2024. A controversial make-over of a ‘make-believe’ heritage—The transformation of Guangrenwang Temple. Architecture 4(2), pp. 416-444. (10.3390/architecture4020023)
- Liu, D., Tam, L. and Li, Y. 2024. Water Tower Home transformation: bottom-up urban regeneration through a reality TV show. Built Heritage 8, article number: 13. (10.1186/s43238-024-00125-4)
- Prizeman, O., Davis, J. and Tam, L. 2023. Digitisation of retreating industrial heritage; modelling the decommissioning of the coal washeries of Onllwyn. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLVIII(M 2), pp. 1251-1260. (10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-2-2023-1251-2023)
- Tam, L. and Harrison, R. 2021. A Conversation with Rodney Harrison on Heritage: Critical Approaches. Heritage Architecture, pp. 148-154. (10.19673/j.cnki.ha.2021.04.015)
- Tam, L. 2019. Something more than a monument—the long-term sustainability of rural historic temples in China. Religions 10(4), pp. 1-22. (10.3390/rel10040289)
Book sections
- Tam, L. 2022. Part III - Employment and opportunities. In: Bernstock, P. et al. eds. State of the Legacy - Reviewing A Decade of Writing on the 'Regeneration' Promises of London 2012. UCL Urban Laboratory, pp. 65-78.
- Tam, L. 2018. The revitalization of Zhizhu Temple. In: Maags, C. and Svensson, M. eds. Chinese Heritage in the Making: Experiences, Negotiations and Contestations. Asian Heritages Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, pp. 245-268., (10.2307/j.ctt2204rz8.13)
- Tam, L. 2017. World Heritage for whom? Sustainable heritage tourism and community development of Luang Prabang. In: Santos, J. R. d. ed. Preserving Transcultural Heritage: Your Way or My Way?. Caleidoscopio, pp. 723-732.
Conferences
- Tam, L. 2024. Heritage regeneration, planning, and resistance –the Bell and Drum Towers area in Beijing. Presented at: The (High Density) Metropolis and Region in Planning History, Hong Kong, China, 2-5 July 2024Proceedings of the 20th International Planning History Society Conference, Vol. 20. Vol. 1. TU Delft Press pp. 325-342., (10.7480/iphs.2024.1.7607)
- Tam, L. 2024. A relational and interdisciplinary framework for sustainability and heritage. Presented at: Sustainability Multidisciplinary Meet-up: SHAPEing Net Zero, UWE Bristol, 16 April 2024.
- Tam, L., Davis, J. and Prizeman, O. 2023. The making and remaking of the Onllwyn industrial landscape - Change as an opportunity for resilience. Presented at: ICOMOS GA2023 - Historic Urban Contexts & Industrial Heritage: Case Studies in Resilience, Sydney, Australia, 31August - 9 September 2023.
Monographs
- Davis, J. and Tam, L. 2023. The making and remaking of a Welsh mining landscape and village: Onllwyn, Cwm Dulais, 1876‐2023. Cardiff: Cardiff University.
Thesis
- Tam, L. 2022. Sustainable heritage management in contemporary China. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Research
My latest research establishes and explores a relational and dynamic framework and approach (Relational Morphogenesis/Morphostasis Approach) to sustainability and heritage, incorporating philosophical traditions such as Critical Realism, assemblage theory and Actor-Network-Theory. I continue to develop this approach into an applicable methodology for heritage research and practices in various contexts and scales in my current and future research. My publications and research interests cover topics such as sustainable heritage management, heritage tourism and community development, Historic Urban Landscape, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings, focusing on empirical studies in China and Southeast Asia while also expanding into (industrial) heritage in Wales.
Teaching
I am the module leader of the History and Theory module in BSc Year 2 Architecture in Context at the WSA. I also support the teaching of Research Preparation and Dissertation in MArch, inclusive design and architecture, and the MSc Sustainable Building Conservation. I introduce general knowledge in the field of heritage and encourage critical thinking over what heritage is, what it does, and how it relates to our world in my teaching. In addition, I am a keen advocate for the internationalisation and democratisation of architectural history. I introduce elements of architectural history beyond the conventional canon, including architecture without architects and architectural history in non-Western contexts. As an educator, I am passionate about creating an interdisciplinary syllabus for architectural history and heritage through active learning. I introduce a broad range of methods from multiple disciplines to study our built environment, including architecture, archaeology, history, and social sciences, and support students to broaden their outlook on diverse career paths.
Biography
I came to the Welsh School of Architecture for my PhD study in 2017 and joined the school as a Lecturer in Architectural History in 2022. I hold a PhD in Architecture from the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, funded by the WSA Studentship and the VC’s International Scholarship for Research Excellence. Before joining the WSA, I practised as a heritage conservation planner in China and as a consultant for sustainable heritage tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos. I was placed within the Luang Prabang World Heritage Department as part of the UNESCO-Chinon-Luang Prabang framework, supported by the French Development Agency (AFD), and subsequently a team member of the EU Commission EU Switch Asia - Luang Prabang Handle with Care Project implemented by the German national development agency GIZ. I have collaborated with public and private sectors, NGOs, local communities, and other entities across Asia and Europe.
I was initially trained as a building archaeologist (BA-Archaeology) in China at Peking University and received my MSc in Conservation of Monuments and Sites from Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC) at KU Leuven, Belgium. While working as a heritage professional in China, I initiated and curated a series of public talks on heritage given by early career heritage professionals and researchers in Beijing. I was an invited panellist for a panel discussion on ‘Cultural Heritage, Preservation and ‘Authenticity’ in China’ at the 2014 Bookworm International Literary Festival and was featured on the international channel of national TV to discuss urban conservation issues in Beijing in 2015. I developed an interactive programme for children to discover historic Beijing along Metro Line 4 in collaboration with Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press and Beijing MTR. I also guest lectured for primary and secondary schools on architectural history and delivered specialised heritage tours to Chinese and international visitors to raise funds for a community museum in Shijia Hutong, for whom I was a volunteering consultant.
In 2014, I was featured in the New York Times for my activist endeavours with my peers to safeguard a historic courtyard facing demolition in Beijing. I was also in a voluntary group of students, heritage professionals, and journalists to compile a report documenting local community voices and memories in Beijing’s Drum and Bell Tower neighbourhood during its redevelopment and displacement in 2014. During my time in Laos. I co-produced a short film on Luang Prabang’s Buddhist heritage with local filmmakers, the Buddhist community and residents to raise visitors’ awareness of the World Heritage city’s living heritage. I also co-designed and co-produced a signage system with local artisans to encourage mindful behaviours and showcase traditional crafts. Both outputs have been disseminated and installed across the World Heritage city beyond the duration of the EU project.
Committees and reviewing
English editor and translator, Heritage Architecture (Chinese-English bilingual), Built Heritage (Springer)
Social media editor of Planning Perspectives (Taylor & Francis)
Peer-reviewer, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering (Taylor & Francis), Built Heritage (Springer Nature), MDPI journals Heritage, Religions, Land, and Asian Development Perspectives (South Korea's National Research Foundation).
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of:
- Heritage & Sustainability Studies (including those with a focus on Critical Heritage Studies, intersections between heritage and sustainability, and the theoretical explorations of these two concepts)
- Sustainable Heritage Management and Conservation (including heritage planning, World Heritage management, and heritage interpretation)
- Heritage, Architectural History and Building Archaeology in non-Western Contexts (particularly in China, East & South East Asia, but also including Wales)
Current supervision
Yichang Dai
Research student
Research themes
Specialisms
- Architectural heritage and conservation
- Architectural history, theory and criticism
- Sustainability
- Cultural heritage management
- Heritage, archive and museum studies