Dunhuang, an oasis city in the desert, preserved the flourishing, vanished and renaissance of the Silk Road in the past two thousand years. Due to the significant position located at the nodes of the routes on the Silk Road, Dunhuang has experienced a variety of cultural influences. Given its cruel desert climate where caravans were threatened by unpredictable dangers, Dunhuang became a religious center, especially for the development of Buddhism. Mogao Grotto is forever a shining pearl of Dunhuang. There are a total of 735 caves that have been identified and stretch the length of a 5578-feet cliff, which includes the 492 grottoes decorated with mural and statues in the southern section. It began being constructed around the 4th century and remained under construction for more than 1000 years. Renaissance of the Mogao Grotto is an exhibition designed to use digital media and traditional drawing to re-create the ancient cave art in Northwest China. These virtual representations enhance the experience of real visitors of the cave, allowing them to discover the history of the caves. In particular, the 3D visualization environment of Cave 275, one of the oldest existing caves in Mogao Grotto, is a strong immersive experience for audiences to appreciate the delicate Buddhist cave art. At the same time, all traditional works, such as drawing, sketching, photos, audio, and video illustrate the understanding of Mogao cave art in modern aspects. Re-exhibits powerfully demonstrate the heritage of Asian culture in multi-approaches, which are a special opportunity for visitors to experience and witness the treasure of Chinese culture. / Master of Fine Arts / Mogao Grotto is a rich repository of Buddhist art and has a high reputation in scholarly circles. However, the Mogao Grotto complex is not widely known by the broader general public. The aim of my MFA exhibition, Renaissance of the Mogao Grottoes is to help the audiences to understand the value of the artworks in Mogao Grotto. Due to the harsh environment condition in the desert, the murals will probably disappear in the future. Therefore, protection is another responsibility of the project to show the information of the inside of the caves through digital media.

The issue of the environment (Umwelt) often fluctuates between two extremes: the cultural environment (architecture) and the natural environment (nature). Although the idea of the "natural environment" can (paradoxically) also be understood as a cultural construct. The project explores the ambiguity of artificial vs. natural through the design of an apartment building. The proposal uses a reinforced concrete skeleton of an abandoned shopping center built at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, into which it inserts individual "dwellings". The design examines the tools ranging from an "artificial stone" in the form of walls made of shotcrete to dramatic views of the nearby Holedná Forest, which both figuratively and literally (eg. during a walk) becomes another room of the apartments. The landscape and human emotions associated with the natural environment are an important motive for the whole proposal. To expose the tension between two modern tendencies: escape from nature vs. return to nature, it samples the topic of apartment and nature.