The Branding & Space: A Critical Perspective research program explores the relationship between design, capitalism, and spatial production, critically examining how branding strategies shape the built environment. Led by Professor Ong Yan, this program investigates the ways in which corporate identity, consumer culture, and visual representation influence architecture, interiors, and urban spaces. By drawing from architectural history, design theory, business histories, and media studies, this research program interrogates the intersections of branding, power, and space. From corporate headquarters and retail environments to cultural institutions and public spaces, we analyze how branding embeds economic, social, and political narratives into the material world. Through archival research, critical spatial analysis, and interdisciplinary collaborations, this program challenges dominant narratives of branding and design, offering new perspectives on the ways in which spaces communicate identity. By unpacking the power dynamics of branding in architecture and urbanism, the Branding & Space research program provides a critical lens for understanding the built environment in an era of commodification and spectacle.
Ong Yan Research
4201 Henry Avenue
Architecture & Design Building, Room 309
Philadelphia, PA 19144
The Spatial Histories & Theories Lab, led by Professor Ong Yan, advances scholarly research through writing and experimental design explorations. The lab critically investigates the intersections of architecture, cities, and interior space with media, representation, and visual culture. Engaging with interdisciplinary perspectives from graphic design, the history of science and technology, business histories, and non-Western histories, the lab explores the contradictions and tensions of modern capitalism in the built environment. Through historical and theoretical inquiry, the team challenges conventional narratives and expands understandings of spatial production and design.
Research Focus Areas
The Graphic Turn in Architectural Space
This research project examines the 1960s-80s when modernism waned, and experimental architecture and interior design flourished, preceding postmodernism. It explores how the graphic turn redefined design, uncovering its role in reshaping space, society, and subjectivity during the late modern moment. Issues examined include graphic media, interdisciplinary perspectives, emotions and resistance, flatness as power, research on lesser-known works, emotions as resistance, and controversy of decoration in design.
Mural Arts’ Philly Painting is a contemporary example of supergraphics in the public sphere. Photo by Muhammad Ali Khalid.
Design Justice Lab
Design Justice Lab examines the intersection of design, urbanism, and social engagement to explore how public spaces shape – and are shaped by —communities. Led by Professor Grace Ong Yan and Professor Andrew Hart, this program investigates the historical, theoretical, and contemporary dimensions of community-driven design, emphasizing the role of built constructions in fostering civic life, cultural identity, and social equity. By combining historical scholarship with contemporary design discourse, the Design Justice Lab program seeks to inform more inclusive and responsive approaches to public space, ensuring that design serves as a catalyst for meaningful social and spatial change.
Award-winning design for Huntington Township’s Black History Public Art project in Long Island, NY. Image created by Collective/Design Justice Lab.
Non-Western Modernisms in Design & Architecture
The Non-Western Modernisms in Design & Architecture research program critically examines the diverse expressions of modernism beyond the Euro-American canon, challenging dominant narratives that have traditionally framed architectural modernity. Led by Professor Ong Yan, the program investigates how modernist design principles were adapted, resisted, and transformed in Asian, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, responding to local histories, cultural identities, and political conditions. Engaging with architectural history, postcolonial theory, and global urbanism, this research program explore the intersections of modernity and indigenous spatial traditions. By studying archival records, material culture, and oral histories, we uncover the complexities of regional modernisms, from state-sponsored infrastructure projects to grassroots architectural adaptations.
Key areas of inquiry include: the influence of local materials, labor practices, and climate-responsive design on modernist adaptations, the intersection of architecture, race, and identity in non-Western urban development, and the contributions of underrepresented architects and designers in shaping regional modernisms. By broadening the discourse on architectural modernism, this program seeks to decenter Western paradigms and highlight the ways in which diverse cultures have reinterpreted modernist ideals. Through critical historiography, fieldwork, and interdisciplinary collaborations, we aim to reconstruct a more inclusive history of modern architecture that acknowledges its global complexity and pluralistic expressions.
Reclaimed tilework on Wang Shu and Amateur Architecture Studio’s 2008 Ningbo History Museum, constructed from the rubble of the demolished village that once occupied the site, honoring the region’s past through material. Photo by 中文.
Branding & Space: A Critical Perspective
Plexiglas chandelier designed by György Kepes for the 1965 Röhm & Haas Building. The building design is example of how the chemical company promoted their Plexiglas invention through architecture and design. Photo by Grace Ong Yan.