Yingfei Jiang

My thesis is a concept for the design of a corporate headquarters that places an emphasis on the representation of food delivery workers. The rapidly increasing demands to complete more deliveries in less time has created enormous pressure for food delivery workers in China. This ruthless atmosphere is only exacerbated by the widespread use of algorithmic tracking devices that analyze employees' performance and produce data that would supposedly improve efficiency if adopted. By breaking the Mobius band, which is a representation of perpetuation, the design intends to make a public statement to fight against the violent capitalistic economies, which lack basic human rights. This is achieved by incorporating a “broken” Mobius corridor in the middle of the construction of Meituan’s new headquarter in Shanghai (Meituan is the top food delivery platform in China). The broken Mobius corridor acts as a genuine gesture from the employer to publicly proclaim their opposition to this type of business behavior with hopes to be a leader of change in the industry. The concept of “wrap” is further developed on the broken Mobius band. Through the use of curved elements, soft mesh materials, neutral colors, and natural greeneries, the goal is to create a serene environment that mimics the pleasant sensations of knowing that you are seen, covered, and valued.