Yiqiu Liu (刘奕秋)
is an urbanist, architect, and research coordinator for the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS) project The Production of Cloud: Territorial and Architectural Strategies for AI’s Socio-Environmental Footprint. She co-coordinates the project with Milica Topalović, which explores how to theorize, design, and govern AI cloud infrastructure across Switzerland, the United States, and China.
She received her doctorate from the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich (2023) and holds both a BA and an MA in Architecture from Southeast University, Nanjing. Her research focuses on political ecology, state space, and urban China, with a particular focus on investigating contemporary Beijing through the framework of extended urbanization.
Yiqiu is also a practicing architect and urban designer with experience across continents. She has led several award-winning projects with Christian Kerez, received two 2024 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, and frequently consults public and private stakeholders on spatial development in Asia and Europe.