Michele Bonino, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Ph.D. in History of Architecture, is the Head of the Department of Architecture and Design and the Director of the China Center at the Politecnico di Torino. He was a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University (2013-2014) and a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2016). On behalf of the Politecnico di Torino, he was the principal architect for the Shougang Visitor Centre for the XXIV Olympic Winter Games (Beijing 2022, with Tsinghua University). He was the Academic Curator of the 2019 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture - Shenzhen (with Sun Y.). He was invited to the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004, 2010, 2012, 2021. His current research focuses on the innovation of design and its practices according to models of transnational exchange. He’s the author of more than 350 scientific publications. Among his recent books, Grounding the Belt and Road Initiative. Architecture of the new Silk Roads (Birkhäuser 2024 – in print, with F. Carota and S. Marri), The Story of a Section. Designing the Shougang Oxygen Factory (ORO 2022, with E. Bruno, A. Armando, G. Durbiano), China Goes Urban. The City to Come (Skira 2020, with F. Carota, F. Governa, S. Pellecchia). He’s a member of the Scientific Committee of “Vicino/Lontano” Festival and of the Steering Committee of “Biennale Tecnologia”.

Michela Barosio is currently associate professor in architectural and urban design at Politecnico di Torino (Italy) since 2022. She obtained her PhD in Architecture and Building Design from Politecnico di Torino in 2004 discussing a thesis about analysis and design criteria for the regeneration of urban dismantled industrial areas. She is a chartered architect and she has been a practicing architect from 1998 to 2015 running her own practice since 2004. She is currently teaching at undergraduate and master level in the programs in architecture of the Politecnico di Torino running interdisciplinary design studio. As a member of the Joint Research Unit Transitional Morphologies between Politecnico di Torino and South-East University Nanjing her research focuses on the design processes for urban regeneration, on morphological studies and on the parametric approach to urban design. On these topics, she is the author of several books, articles and conference papers at a national and international level. Her interest on educational methods for design teaching led her to be an active member of the Teaching Lab of Politecnico di Torino as well as a member of the Council of the EAAE European Association for Architectural Association.

Lidia Preti completed her master’s degree in 'Architecture Construction City' in 2019 at Politecnico di Torino, as part of the Double Degree program established with Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her master's thesis delved into one of the historical districts of Beijing. Currently, she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Architecture, History, and Project as part of the joint Ph.D. research program “Transnational Architectural Models in a Globalized World” between Politecnico di Torino and Tsinghua University in Beijing. Her research focuses on Rural Revitalization practices in Contemporary China, with a specific interest in the engagement of practitioners and academic institutions in these processes. She lives between Italy and China where she spent an extended period of time in Beijing over the past few years, specifically at the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University. Since 2019, she has been actively engaged in research activities with the China Room research group at Politecnico di Torino.

Valentina Labriola is a Landscape Architect and currently a PhD candidate in Architecture. History and Project at Politecnico di Torino. She is pursuing a joint program with the Tsinghua University of Beijing with the curriculum Transnational Architectural Models in a Globalized World. She earned a B.Sc in Architectural Design and a M.Sc in Landscape Architecture at Politecnico di Milano. During her Master’s, she studied at Tongji University in Shanghai, where she developed an interest in China. She pursued this interest through a Research Grant at Politecnico di Milano, where she collaborated with several Chinese and European Universities. Her research interest lies in exploring the dialogue between architecture and media, with a focus on the interaction between literature and urban imaginaries.

Giulia Montanaro obtained in 2020 the Master’s Degree in Building Engineering and Architecture at Università di Pavia with honour and Master's Degree in Architecture at Tongji University in Shanghai as part of the double degree program stipulated between the two universities with a thesis entitled “Architecture Beyond: Italian Architects and Practices in Shanghai”. She is an engineer currently enrolled in a PhD program in “Architecture. History and Design” at Politecnico di Torino in the joint PhD program in the field of Architecture between Politecnico di Torino and Tsinghua University that created a specific PhD curriculum named "Transnational Architectural Models in a Globalised World". Since 2021, she has been collaborating with the China Room research group of the Politecnico di Torino.

Philip F. Yuan Associate Dean, tenured professor of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) at Tongji University, Council Member of Architects Sector, Virtual and Automated Construction Sector as well as Academic Committee of Computational Design Sector at Architectural Society of China; Director of Academic Committee of Shanghai Digital Fabrication Engineering Technology Center; Co-Chair of DigitalFUTURES Association. He founded Shanghai based firms: Archi-Union Architects and Fab-Union Technology. Yuan is also a member in the Scientific Committee of The International Association on Spatial Structures (IASS) and the International Conference on 3D Printing and Transportation3D Printing and Transportation (3DTRB). His research mainly focuses on the field of performance-based architectural tectonics, the application of robotic fabrication equipment as weak as developments of robotic fabrication technologies and is able to realize many of his research theories in architectural practices.

Gao Tianyi, a Master of Architecture from University College London and a PhD candidate at the Shanghai Center for Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems at Tongji University; committee member of DigitalFUTURES; teaching assistant in architectural design at Tongji University. His research focuses on the design and construction workflows of digital timber structures in the era of mass customization. He has participated in international conferences such as UIA, IASS, and CDRF. His papers have been published in journals including "Architectural Intelligence," "Frontiers of Architectural Research," "World Architecture," "Journal of Architecture," and "Contemporary Architecture."