Director of Program

Headshot of Zihao Zhang, looking to the left and smiling.

Zihao Zhang

Assistant Professor; Director, MLA Program

Phone: 212-650-5567

Email: zzhang@ccny.cuny.edu

Office: SSA 3M04

https://oseresearch.com/
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zihao-Zhang-10

Educational Credentials :

  • Ph.D., School of Architecture, University of Virginia, 2021
  • M.L.A., School of Architecture, University of Virginia, 2016
  • B.Eng., Beijing Forestry University, 2013

Teaching Experience :

  • Assistant Professor, City College of New York, CUNY, 2021-present
  • Lecturer, Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia, 2019-2021
  • Teaching Fellow, Landscape Architecture, University of Virginia, 2017-2019

Professional Experience :

  • Co-founder, OSE - Office of Speculative Ecologies, 2023-present
  • Member and co-chair of ASLA-NY Climate Action Committee, 2023-present

Selected Publications and Recent Research :

  • Books:
    • Zhang, Zihao. 2024. Cybernetics and the Constructed Environment: Design Between Nature and Technology. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003320852.
    • Book Chapters:
      • Zihao Zhang and Shurui Zhang. (Forthcoming). “Before the After: Representing Climate Actions in the Age of AI.” In Representing Landscapes: Visualizing Climate Action. Nadia Amoroso (Ed.), Routledge.
      • Cantrell, Bradley, Zihao Zhang, and Xun Liu. 2021 "Artificial intelligence and machine learning in landscape architecture." In The Routledge Companion to Artificial Intelligence in Architecture. Imdat As & Prithwish Basu. (Ed) Taylor & Francis Group. DOI: 10.4324/9780367824259-15
    • Journal Articles:
      • Zhang, Zihao, Susan L Epstein, Casey Breen, Sophia Xia, Zhigang Zhu, and Christian Volkmann. 2023. “Robots in the Garden: Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Landscapes.” Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture 8–2023: 264–72. https://doi.org/doi:10.14627/537740028.
      • Zhang, Zihao, and Shurui Zhang. 2022. “Mapping Landscape Architects’ Expertise in Climate Adaptation with Design Research Projects Over the Past Two Decades.” Landscape Architecture Frontiers 10 (2): 71–81. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-LAF-1-030034.
      • Zhang, Zihao. 2022. “Post-Digital Landscape and Post-Digital Culture.” Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture 7–2022 (June): 26–35. https://doi.org/doi:10.14627/537724004.
      • Zhang, Zihao, and Bradley Cantrell. 2021. "Cultivated Wildness: Towards Technodiversity and Wildness in Machines" Landscape Architecture Frontiers 9 (1): :52-65. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-LAF-1-020040
      • Zhang, Zihao, and Xun Liu. 2020. "Control and Uncertainty: Towards a Paradigm of Prototyping." Landscape Architecture Frontiers 8 (4): 10–25. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-LAF-1-020032.
      • Zhang, Zihao. 2020. "Cybernetic Environment: A Historical Reflection on System, Design, and Machine Intelligence." JoDLA Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture 5–2020: 8. https://doi.org/doi:10.14627/537690004.
      • Zhang, Zihao, and Ben Bowes. 2019. "The Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Landscape Design: A Case Study in Coastal Virginia, USA." Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture 4–2019: 2–9. https://doi.org/doi:10.14627/537663001.
      • Cantrell, Bradley, and Zihao Zhang. 2018. "A Third Intelligence." Landscape Architecture Frontiers 6 (2): 42–51. https://doi.org/10.15302/J-LAF-20180205
    • Grants:
      • DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement for Climate Resilience Centers DE-FOA-0003181
      • Grant title: Climate Lighthouse
      • Grantor: Department of Energy
      • Role: Co-PI
      • Grant period: 2024–2027
      • Grant total amount: $1,000,000
      • ____________________________
      • CCNY College-wide Research Vision Award
      • Grantor: City College of New York
      • Grant title: Energizing Equity: Co-creating Scalable Urban Resilience via Climate Solidarity"
      • Role: Co-PI, Co-Lead
      • Grant period: 2022–2025
      • Grant total amount: $600,000
      • ____________________________
      • CUNY Interdisciplinary Research Grant
      • Grantor: CUNY Office of Research
      • Grant title: Synergistic Agriculture: Innovative Robotics to Grow Food in Urban Ecosystems
      • Role: Principal Investigator
      • Co-PIs: Susan L. Epstein (computer science), Christian Volkmann (architecture), & Zhigang Zhu (computer science)
      • Grant period: Feb 03, 2022–Dec 30, 2023
      • Grant total amount: $40,000
      • ____________________________
      • PSC-CUNY Research Award
      • Grantor: Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York
      • Grant title: Robots in the Garden Convergent Research
      • Role: Principal Investigator
      • Co-PI: Susan Epstein
      • Grant period: July 01, 2023–July 01, 2024
      • Grant total amount: $6,000
      • ____________________________
      • PSC-CUNY Research Award
      • Grantor: Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York
      • Grant title: Synergistic Understanding the Thermodynamics of Innovative Rooftop Solutions with Distributed Sensing Technology
      • Role: Principal Investigator
      • Co-PI: Ricardo Toledo-Crow
      • Grant period: July 01, 2022–July 01, 2024
      • Grant total amount: $6,000

    Professional Memberships :

    • ASLA Member, New York Chapter
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