Wuwu Ran
Postdoctoral Research Associate – Nubian Chronicles
Profile
Biography
Dr Wuwu Ran is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Nubian Chronicles project at the Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Global Heritage, University of York. Wuwu’s work connects architectural research, digital spatial media and urban design, with interests in how digital technologies shape the interpretation and experience of places.
Wuwu completed a PhD in Architecture at the University of Liverpool in 2025, investigating the evolution of urban screens and digitally augmented public spaces in China. Wuwu also holds an MA in Urban Design from the University of Sheffield and a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Soochow University. Before doctoral study, Wuwu spent five years at the Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, contributing to projects in urban renewal, heritage preservation and public space design.
Research
Overview
Wuwu’s current research centres on Nubian Chronicles: Amplifying Marginalised Voices and Contested Histories through Digital Heritage Reconstruction, a British Academy Global Professorship project led by Professor Ahmed El Antably and based at CAUGH. The project explores the cultural landscapes of Lower Nubia submerged following the construction of the Aswan High Dam. It brings together oral histories, archival materials and immersive digital technologies to reconstruct Nubian places and communicate their architectural, social and cultural histories.
As a Postdoctoral Research Associate, Wuwu contributes to the project’s spatial research and digital reconstruction, working with Professor El Antably and the wider team. Wuwu brings experience in archival research, spatial analysis, machine learning, 3D modelling and immersive prototyping to this collaborative work, supporting the project’s exploration of how digital environments can communicate historical evidence and lived experience.
Wuwu’s previous research explored media architecture and digitally augmented public spaces, focusing on urban screens in China. This work combined historical and archival research with machine-learning approaches to urban morphology and virtual-reality simulations of spatial experience and interaction.
Research interests
- Digital heritage and 3D reconstruction
- AI-assisted research workflows and interactive archival interpretation
- Computer-Aided Architectural Design and augmented public spaces
- Media architecture, media façades and urban screens
- Mixed reality, immersive environments and spatial storytelling
Publications
Selected publications
- Ran, W., & Al-Suwaidi, M. F. (2026). ‘Immersive Commons: Designing Ephemeral Spatial Dialogue for Co-Located Mixed Reality’. SIGraDi 2026. Accepted for publication.
- Ran, W. (2026). ‘The Evolution and Chineseness of Urban Screens in China’. Media Architecture Biennale 2025 (MAB25), Bangkok. ACM publication forthcoming.
- Ran, W., Yin, L., & Yu, J. (2023). ‘Machine Learning-driven Comparative Study: Morphological Taxonomy in Screen-Based Building Clusters’. ACADIA 2023 Proceedings, Denver, pp. 596–605.
- Ran, W. (2024). ‘Challenging Surveillance Capitalism in Urban Public Spaces Through Gamified Spatial Practice Simulation with Virtual Reality’. ASCAAD 2024 Proceedings, Barcelona, pp. 553–564.
- He, H., Gao, Q., Shen, X., Wang, M., Ran, W., et al. (2015). Lujiazui: Where All Dreams Begin – Collection of Shanghai Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Planning and Construction Series. China Architecture & Building Press. ISBN 978-7-112-18439-2. [Book Chapters In Chinese]
