Nayoung Shin, MUD ’25

Tell us about a favorite project from your program.
In a studio course with Linda C. Samuels, we are exploring sites along the Los Angeles River from Union Station to Taylor Yard, mapping out key issues such as water, housing, mobility, and more. From there, we proposed a phasing strategy centered around the 2028 Olympics and the year 2050.

I am designing an environmentally and socially sustainable neighborhood that evolves slowly, without demolition. It also addresses water scarcity and public housing redevelopment and displacement issues for this site. Existing vacant buildings will be adaptively reused as volunteer housing during the Olympics, then as temporary housing for residents, and then as affordable permanent housing.

The project also proposes a self-sufficient food system with community farms, farmers’ markets, and decentralized neighborhood grocery stores. The harvests are connected to nearby breweries and restaurants, forming a local economic ecosystem.

Overall, I am taking an infill approach based on place-keeping rather than renewal in order to maintain the sustainability and identity of the community. In 2028, a vacant lot located at the midpoint of the festival trail will serve as a wayfinding hub, a pilot project for water recycling, and a community gateway. In the long term, these hubs will be expanded and proliferated across the district, purifying and reusing various water sources through water streets connected to the river. This will create water-related jobs, increasing economic stability for residents and preventing displacement.

What I enjoyed most about this project is that I was able to experience the city firsthand through the L.A. field trip at the beginning of the semester, connect with practitioners, and receive meaningful feedback. I was able to expand my thinking while considering the balance between feasibility and creativity.

Why did you choose to go to graduate school at WashU?
I graduated from a Bachelor of Architecture program in South Korea and came to this program to explore my interest in urban design. During my undergraduate studies, I mainly worked on medium-scale architectural projects, focusing more on the buildings themselves. However, I always found it interesting to understand the context before starting a design and reflecting on how architecture and the urban environment influence each other. This experience sparked a desire to go beyond using a city’s history and structure merely as a backdrop for architectural design, and to engage with the broader framework of the city.

I was drawn to WashU’s Master of Urban Design program because of its clear focus on climate crisis response and social justice. I also appreciated how architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design are treated as interconnected rather than strictly separate fields — in fact, I’ve been able to experience a range of perspectives by working alongside students from different disciplines in the studio. The diverse opportunities, such as workshops and the Global Urbanism Studio, and my curiosity about St. Louis also brought me here.

What faculty, courses, making spaces, or other WashU resources that have had a big impact on you?
The Metropolitan Urbanism course I took in my first semester had a big impact on me. We read and discussed thoughtfully curated texts by Professor Patty Heyda, organized by theme for each week, and conducted a neighborhood analysis project.

I chose Botanical Heights, formerly McRee Town, in St. Louis as my site and researched how housing redevelopment has driven the market, focusing on urban renewal and typology, and the context in which two different redevelopment approaches conflict in the same neighborhood.

This class has helped me understand the history of American city formation and the various forms of urbanism. Understanding the invisible layers beneath the visible urban form has made me realize the need for a delicate approach that considers social justice for sustainable cities and has become the foundation for design interventions in studio projects.

What’s something about WashU or the Sam Fox School that you’ll miss?
At the virtual open house before I came here, a faculty member said that one of the things she was most proud of about this school was the people, and now I truly understand what she meant. The faculty, students, and staff here are all passionate, supportive, and positively influencing each other. I’m so grateful to be a part of that community, and I think I’ll miss the people here the most. The moments I got to experience in different cities firsthand with peers, such as the L.A. field trip and the Lively Cities workshop in Copenhagen, as well as small memories of walking around WashU’s campus on a beautiful day, will stay with me for a long time.

Nayoung Shin graduates in August 2025 with a Master of Urban Design from WashU, where she is also a Sam Fox Ambassador. She earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from Pai Chai University in South Korea.