Ivan Shen
Ivan Shen is a Master of Science in Architectural Studies (SMArchS) student in the Urbanism domain. His research investigates the transnational impacts of infrastructure, urbanization, and displacement across the Global South, with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa, informal settlements, and sonic/spatial media. At MIT, Ivan is a Graduate Research Assistant at the Critical Broadcasting Lab under Professor Ana Miljački and at Design Earth under Professor Rania Ghosn. At MIT, he also serves as a Departmental Representative to the Graduate Student Council and President of China SA+P, and executive board member of MIT Urban Africa.
Prior to MIT, Ivan graduated summa cum laude as Valedictorian from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Architecture and a B.A. in Music History and Cultures with Distinction. His cross-disciplinary scholarship has received top institutional honors, including the Syracuse University Scholar (top 12 across the university), Senior Class Marshal, and the Abraham Veinus Prize in musicology. His research is published in MIT Press’s Thresholds (Issue 54: Records) and will be presented at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) 2027 Annual Conference.
Ivan brings extensive empirical fieldwork experience backed by institutional grants, including the MIT MISTI Africa Research Grant across Nigeria, Ghana, and Sierra Leone (2026), and multi-stage field research in Kenya and Rwanda supported by Syracuse’s SOURCE Grant. Complementing his academic research is his work as the Founder and Director of the Office for Our Common Home, a humanitarian spatial research and community co-design practice active in West and East Africa. His key initiatives with the Office include the architectural design and master planning for the Lindalva Inclusive School in Benin City, Nigeria (in partnership with the Daughters of Charity, projected for 2028), spatial improvements and community infrastructure for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements in Abuja (in collaboration with the Jesuit Refugee Service Nigeria), and the exhibition design for the Kibera Peace Photography Exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya (with KiCA, Dec. 2026).
As an aspiring educator, Ivan has served as a Teaching Assistant for the Contemporary Urbanism Proseminar (instructed by Rania Ghosn) and Master of Architecture Option Studio at MIT (instructed by Roi Salgueiro Barreiro). At Syracuse, he supported design studio sequences across landscape, urbanism, and visiting critic studios, and tutored core curricula spanning building technologies, architectural representation, structural systems, and theory. Complementing his academic trajectory is professional experience across nine design and research offices on four continents, including Perkins&Will Boston and the General Architecture Collaborative in Kigali. He has earned over 15 national and international design accolades, including First Place (ACADIA Award) in the 2024 National NOMA Student Design Competition, the AIA Central New York Award of Merit and First Place in the HOME 2124 International Competition for The Domestic Nomad, an Honorable Mention in the 2024 eVolo Skyscraper Competition for Farming Depot City, and Top 5 in the Concéntrico Festival International Competition in Spain for The Shared Ground Floor.
