COVID-19 calls for a new understanding of urban landscape and associated living. As an emerging topic, lockdown urbanism involves an unpredictable future where lockdown or quarantine may be a come and go new normal for everyday practice, but the topic itself seems to have escaped historical inquiry. This paper attempts to answer why the strict lockdown is suitable for China by revealing a long and complex history of urbanization and its social and administrative organization. The urban fabric is characterized by a system of urban patterns: enclosed communities, the spatial layout and service distribution of the neighborhood, and the formation of the center. It was also animated by daily ritualistic practices, such as the control of time, quotidian lockdown practice (yejin), and individual ties within the enclosed neighborhood. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the deep history of urban form and the order and logic behind lockdown urbanism.

Block mode delivery is widely practised in higher education institutions across the world. It is popular at postgraduate level, such as in business and management fields, but is less common at undergraduate level, especially for studio design teaching. There is a lack of literature on the block mode delivery for studio design teaching. The aim of this paper is to identify the favourable attributes and challenges of the block mode delivery for studio design teaching through the analysis of three undergraduate design studio units at an Australian university as case studies. Students' written feedback of studying these three units were collected and reviewed to evaluate strategies for enhancing student engagement. Challenges of block teaching to students and staff are discussed. The findings suggest that there are various ways to engage with students for active learning in block teaching, which are valuable for curriculum design and continuous improvement.

As a newly formed concept, “Biophilic design” is attracting a growing attention among both practitioners and academics. However, the link between biophilic design and vernacular architecture has yet to be thoroughly explored, especially in the context of China, which is the gap this article aims to fill. Investigating the vernacular architecture of the Naxi, this research found that biophilic design attributes and features existed in vernacular buildings and settlements. A matrix framework was developed to facilitate the in-depth investigation of the interrelated elements of the Naxi such as local climate, topography, culture, their belief system, conventions, arts and literature. Among other results, we found that the local culture was influenced by animism and distinct cosmic models. Also, the buildings were constructed using the traditional ways of material preparation and conventions of occupancy. This research serves as an important springboard to bridge between studies in biophilic design and studies in vernacular architecture and settlements.

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