About

DEBORAH LIU

Architectural designer | lifestyle blogger

I am currently living in Los Angeles, California, but I grew up in Walnut, California – a Los Angeles suburb with less than 50,000 residents. Throughout my architectural and urban design studies, I slowly understood the suburb that I grew up in and it became one of the primary reasons to concentrate on urban design and the growth of cities in relation to economics and desires. After 17 years in a suburb, I moved to the City of Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC in 2013 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, I worked as an architectural assistant for Hong Kong Government’s Architectural Services Department. In 2016, I decided to pursue a one-year Post-Professional Master of Architecture II at UCLA under Thom Mayne of Morphosis Architects and the Now Institute. After graduating with a M.Arch II, I achieved a life dream by becoming an architectural designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. By studying urban theories of physical elements and programmatic functions, I continue to question how various systematic patterns work simultaneously. It is when the forces align that make the most interesting moments. Sometimes the forces don’t align which triggers curiosity and spontaneity. As an Architectural and Urban Designer, I am able to apply new architecture and urban design principles from my self-interests with ongoing research & developing technology to explore various environmental scenarios and to enhance social engagement and experiences for lasting memories. I am currently in the process of obtaining my architectural professional license with Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) ARB and the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB) while exploring various environments and documenting city life.

It all started with a diary.

I was never good with essay writing, but I excelled in creative writing. When I was little, my grandmother influenced me to write in a journal, a place where I could release my inner thoughts. My grandmother came from Hong Kong and was not excellent in English. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I observed my grandma jotting down vocabulary words and grammar rules in a small notebook that she kept with her every day. That was how she learned English. In another notebook, she wrote down her thoughts to God. Since she has gone to Heaven, I’ve been writing in my diary to tell God how my life has been going. God is the messenger between me and my grandma. I started wordpressing so that I have a place to fangirl. Then it turned out to be a place to type out my stories. Now, it’s just a place to put out my thoughts. These are the random thoughts of a young woman approaching her thirties, just trying to make it in the Architecture and Urban Design world.