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XWHO has a group of innovative, energetic and responsible professionals. They are curious about the world around them, passionate about what they do and confident in facing challenges. And these might be the fundamental sources of their successes
Charles W. Harris, is the Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture, former Chairman for Landscape Architecture Department of Harvard, and Director of Land Research Center at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Charles was educated in landscape architecture/planning at University of Illinois, and later took the graduate study in Landscape Architecture at Harvard. In the following years, he was teaching at Harvard, and gradually focused on landscape architecture and land planning education at University of Illinois and Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he retired in 1991.
While teaching at Harvard, he co-founded and took the position of Executive Director of Resource & Development Consultants International (RE-CON). Re-con offers comprehensive resource analysis and planning services to the public. He has also edited the handbook Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture together with N. T. Dines (published by McGraw-Hill in 1988 and 1998).
Charles worked for several well known design firms such as Gropius, Simonds & Simonds, Peter Walker, Sasaki Associates, and TAC, Philip Lewis etc. He was involved in almost all kinds of land develop projects around the world and has been recognized as one of the most distinguished professors and land-development planners in the world.
Representative projects:
- Site selection and master planning studies for a new university in Iran
- Residential sub-divisions in Indiana
- Site selection for a new school of business administration in Central America
- Several proposals and executed projects in other parts of the world including Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Ukraine
Tony Xia obtained his Doctor of Design degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he had worked with some famous landscape architects such as Dan Kiley, Hideo Sasaki, Carl Steinitz, Charles Harris and Stephen Ervin.
He has been actively involved in many large-scale projects in planning, and landscape architecture projects in America, East asia, China and other countries.
Xia describes himself a new design culture explorer i.e., to put the elements of modern Chinese design culture into every piece of its designs, and revitalize the traditional Chinese culture in modern society by integrating the economic and cultural elements of east and west.
'Lighten myself with passion, even I can only bring the world a faint light.' All the efforts made by his team and himself, are aiming to create a brighter world that proves 'design changes world'
Representative projects:- Alternative future planning for the West Lake ,Hangzhou, China
- Quzhou Waterfront Historic Street, Zhejiang, China
- Beijing Fragrance Mountain Villa Area
- Waterfront Park in Framingham, U.S.
- 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Forest Park and Central Area
- Zhejiang Hengdian Oriental Hollywood Tourism Centre etc.
His academic works include:
- XWHO, from East to West, a Journey Exploring Nature and Culture
- The Object-Oriented Design Approach (in both Chinese and English )
- Biography of Dan Kiley
- How long is 100 Years: FL Olmsted
- Being Your Admire, Harvard
- The Palm and the Back of the Hands
- Observe the Post-Modern Era