Sofia Leoni

Sofia Leoni is an architect and PhD Candidate in Urban and Regional Development at Politecnico di Torino and part of the China Room research group since 2022. She received both her M.Arch. and B.Arch at Politecnico di Torino, after different period of studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing and at La Cambre-Horta, Faculté d’Architecture, Université Libre de Bruxelles. During her studies, she was involved in different architecture competitions, many activities in the academic environment and curatorial design. Her interest relies in the field of theories and cultures of urban design, with particular attention to processes of urbanization occurring in China and Asia. Her current research delves into the spatial effects associated to the logistic turn in rural areas of f the Southeast coast of China, particularly within the initiative Rural Taobao, promoted by the hi-tech company Alibaba, which aims to revitalize and transform rural economies by leveraging e-commerce platforms by extending the Taobao marketplace.