About Xiaobei:
Xiaobei joined Utile in 2023 as a designer, after having previously worked with the firm as a research assistant in 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies and a Master of Architecture from Northeastern University. Xiaobei was born and raised in China, and along with her experiences living in South Africa and Germany, this cultivated her interests in architectural preservation, sustainability, and accessibility. Her passion for spatial equity drove her master’s thesis: a scalable plug-and-play housing scheme that gives design agency to future residents with limited mobility and those aiming to age-in-place.
Xiaobei has had the opportunity to work on a range of projects conducting research, feasibility studies, and design and documentation for architectural and master planning projects. She has worked on multiple income-restricted housing projects at varying scales in Boston. Notably, she completed the construction documentation for a 63-unit senior housing project in Hyde Park, and worked on the plans for a multi-phase master planning project in Brighton. Xiaobei remains involved in academia through assistant teaching and research. In her free time, she can be found with a quality espresso drink in hand, working on her new hobby as an amateur woodworker, or flying off on a new adventure.