CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of two projects funded by the transdisciplinary grant program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is wrapping up an extensive and collaborative research, planning, and design process.
“Place Making and Rural Tourism in China” was comprised of three interdisciplinary courses, ARCH 572, ARTD 499, and RST 594/199, and took place over the Spring 2025 semester.
During the Spring 2025 semester, students participated in a collaborative research approach to develop coordinated architectural plans and designs, tourism development strategies, wayfinding plans and place-making activities that met the specific needs of residents and visitors of Caoxia Village located in Jiangxi Province, China.
There was also a travel portion of the program in February. Students traveled to Caoxia Village with faculty leaders of the program for a week-long study abroad opportunity.
At the conclusion of the semester, students from across all three courses contributed to a joint design project that centered around tea. For example, there were architectural plans to create a tea house and a design for a box with a logo for the tea itself.
Windy Zhao, the project lead and professor overseeing ARCH 572, said overall the experience was great.
“We had about 80 residents show up to aid students (during the February site visit). Many of them are interested in the branding of the final product and asked about the design,” Zhao said.
Zhao also mentioned they were able to start the foundation for a strong relationship with the Caoxia Village community by working alongside them to develop a comprehensive set of plans. She said these plans were warmly received by the residents and village officials.
As a result, Zhao said members of the community are serious about implementing aspects of the design project—a tea box design that includes a small booklet featuring the story behind the design, the logo, and the students and faculty who created it.
“We are also part of the story behind the design,” Zhao said. “A bunch of students and faculty from the University of Illinois worked together to create this, and that’s why we wanted to make sure we also included everyone’s name (in the final booklet). That’s meaningful and unique.”
Designing the booklet and the tea box is also a way to preserve the relationship between the Caoxia Village community and the program.
Zhao said they are now waiting to get the trademark for the design approved; something she said takes about half a year.
Additionally, by the end of the semester, she said the booklet that will go into the tea box should be done. Zhao said Molly Briggs, an assistant professor in the School of Art & Design and co-lead on the project, is designing the booklet with her current class this semester.
And Zhao said once the tea is made, everyone who participated in the design process will get a box.
“They can get everyone a box with the students’ design, and I think that will be very nice for the students to have their design work realized,” Zhao said. “And they can see that little booklet with their story and with their names on it. So that’s where we are right now.”
Place Making and Rural Tourism in China was funded by the Transdisciplinary Global South Community-Based Learning Program Development grant, an initiative of the university’s Vision 2030 Global Strategy and funded by the Office of the Provost.
Zhao said moving forward she hopes that the university continues supporting this type of transdisciplinary grant program because that’s the only way to ensure the relationship between communities and the students and faculty who work alongside them remains strong and lasts.
“We can’t just work with local community members for one semester and call it a day. It needs to continue to evolve and if it does then a whole new different team of students can participate and push for a full project completion… and not just the design development phase,” Zhao said. “A community-based project cannot be just one semester. It needs to be long term to have a real impact in the long term.”
Analicia Haynes is the storytelling and social media specialist for Illinois International. She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.