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Xinru Liu
Junior Designer at Marpillero Pollak Architects
Professional Background
Xinru Liu is an accomplished architectural designer based in the vibrant city of New York. With a unique blend of creativity and critical thinking, Xin leverages her background in philosophy along with her architectural training to explore the boundaries of architectural practice. Xin is dedicated to questioning the definitions that dichotomize architecture and non-architecture, leading her to foster innovative concepts that challenge traditional ideas. Her career has been enriched by various roles, from internships to significant collaborative positions, allowing her to glean insights into the multifaceted world of architecture.
Xin's previous positions include Junior Designer at Marpillero Pollak Architects, as well as a range of collaborative roles that showcase her commitment to community involvement and social responsibility. Xin’s passion for addressing pressing societal issues—specifically environmental challenges, homelessness, and youth incarceration—mirrors her philosophy-driven approach to design. As she progresses in her career, Xin continues to support initiatives that bring architectural solutions to contemporary societal challenges.
Education and Achievements
Xinru Liu has a commendable educational background that has laid the foundation for her architectural expertise. Starting her educational journey at Shenzhen Middle School, Xin's aspirations led her to participate in the Career Discovery summer program in Architecture at The University of Hong Kong, where she was introduced to architectural concepts and practices. Following this, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Architecture (B.Arch.) from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she honed her design skills and cultivated her unique artistic perspective.
Pursuing further education, Xin obtained a Master's degree in Architecture from the prestigious Harvard University Graduate School of Design. This experience allowed her to deepen her understanding of architectural theory and practice, while also focusing on community service through the Graduate School of Design Community Service Fellowship Program—experience that reflects her commitment to social issues. Additionally, her time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a cross-register student in Design and Applied Arts enriched her practical skills and broadened her design perspective.
Xin also had the opportunity to study as an exchange student at the Technical University of Munich, which allowed her to gain international perspectives on architecture while expanding her understanding of the field in a global context. Each educational experience has contributed to Xin’s well-rounded approach to design, captured beautifully on her personal website where prospective clients and collaborators can immerse themselves in her background and insightful projects.
Key Experiences and Contributions
Throughout her career, Xin has amassed a wealth of experience that showcases both her architectural talents and her dedication to social change. Her role as an Assistant at Christina Hilfiger Architecture. Communication. provided her with a platform to merge communication skills with architectural design, while her collaborative work at Studio Atlas and RISD ASB displayed her ability to engage various stakeholders in the architectural discourse. As a summer intern at L.E.F.T architecture and URBANUS Architecture & Design, Xin was able to gain practical exposure to design processes and project development, working alongside seasoned professionals in the field.
As an Alumni Ambassador at the Rhode Island School of Design, Xin has contributed significantly to connecting current students with alumni resources and networks, thus enriching the student experience within the architectural community. Xin’s commitment to community service and collaboration embodies a holistic approach to architecture, proving that good design must also address the needs and challenges of society.
Notable Projects
Among her various projects, Xin is actively engaging with themes surrounding environmental issues and social equity. Her keen interest in addressing homelessness through innovative architectural solutions realizes her vision of harnessing design for the greater good. Xin's ongoing projects are testament to her aspiration to bridge the gap between design and real-world applications, particularly regarding youth incarceration and its effects on communities. These explorations reflect a deep understanding of how architecture can help foster inclusivity and provide a voice for underrepresented communities.
In summary, Xinru Liu stands as a transformative figure in architecture, driven by passion, philosophy, and a commitment to addressing vital social issues. As an emerging leader, Xin continues to challenge norms and push boundaries within the field of architecture, making significant contributions that resonate beyond design alone.
Highlights
The AIANY Future of Practice Committee invites you to a day-long symposium on AGENCY. June 15th, 10am-5pm in person or on Zoom. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gPYciatk We are joined by an incredible roster of speakers, including: Sierra Bainbridge, Senior Principal and Managing Director, MASS Design Group Sreoshy Banerjea, Executive Director, NYC Public Design Commission; Co-founder, Design Corps Nicolay Boyadjiev, Practice Lab Director, re:arc Institute Diana Budds, Design Journalist Billie Faircloth, Associate Professor, Cornell Atkinson Scholar & Senior Faculty Fellow, Cornell Jerome Haferd, Principal, Jerome Haferd Studio, Assistant Professor, CCNY Chrisoula Kapelonis, Design Strategy Lead, Home Intelligence, Google Home Brian Kavanaugh, New York State Senator Angel “Monxo” Lopez, Curator of Community Histories, Museum of the City of New York Eva Neubauer Alligood Director at Hester Street Amanda Ramos, CEO of WIN: Women In Innovation Faculty at SVA bj siegel, LEED AP, Co-Founder and Head of Design, Juno AJ Pires, President, Alloy Development Shawn Watts, Partner, Leroy Street Studio Claire Weisz, Principal-in-Charge, WXY Studio Dong-Ping Wong, Founding Director, Food Architects. AGENCY: When it comes to the design and delivery of the built environment, the power of architects relative to other players and forces has always been contested. Given this uncertainty, the AIANY Future of Practice Committee is convening a symposium on June 15th at the AIANY Center for Architecture focusing on how architects can find agency both through conventional and non-traditional forms of practice. Three moderated panel discussions will focus on working in innovative ways "INSIDE", "BESIDE" & "BEYOND" practice and a fourth concluding panel comprised of non-architects will ask the question "should architects have more agency in the first place?" Ultimately, the discourse aims to shift prevailing conceptions of practice and probe how technical, political, cultural, economic, social, and artistic forms of power can be deployed. #agency #centerforarchitecture #architecturepractice #criticaldesign #computatinaldesign #AIA Details Saturday, June 15th 2024, 10am - 5pm AIANY Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York City Organized by: AIANY Future of Practice Committee Jacob Reidel, Co-Chair Andre Soluri , Co-Chair
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.