Temple University

Na Wei is the Founding Principal of WEI architects (aka Elevation Workshop), a design firm originally founded in New York and currently based in Beijing since 2009.

The idea of the genius loci is very particular in Wei’s work. She professes a keen interest in developing sympathetic, place-based architecture. With her exquisite perception, Wei’s thoughtful designs blend art, architecture, and interior. Standing for Emotive Architecture, Wei derives concepts from emotions in order to create an atmosphere-driven synergy that highlights the interaction between people and the built environment. 

Besides her distinguished professional practice, Wei is also deeply involved in academia. Before joining the faculty at Tyler, she held an associate professorship in architecture at Tianjin University and served as a visiting associate professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught and lectured at many prestigious institutions, including Tsinghua University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Yale School of Architecture, Syracuse University, and the University of Cincinnati. Since 2017, she has been offering her online design course titled "Emotive Design." 

Wei is the author of Suffused Space: A Farewell to the Indifferent Architecture, published by China Architecture & Building Press, Beijing, in 2019 and reprinted in 2020. In 2016, People's Daily recognized her as "one of the most influential female architects in Beijing."

Her work has been featured in numerous publications and exhibitions worldwide, including the book New Chinese Architecture: Twenty Women Building the Future, published by Thames & Hudson in 2019, Beyond the West: New Global Architecture, published by Gestalten in 2020, "A Retrospective on Ten Years of Practice in Eastern Contexts," exhibited at Yale School of Architecture in 2018, and the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021.

MArch, Yale School of Architecture, New Haven, CT 
BArch, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing