Carmen Xu (1986, China) is the Head of Communications Asia of MVRDV, overseeing the external and internal communications across Public Relations and Business Development of MVRDV Asia, with a particular focus on the office’s branding and PR strategy in China. She worked for MVRDV as the PR Manager of Shanghai office between 2014 – 2015, where she contributed to MVRDV’s close collaboration with Power Station of Art and brought the “Vertical Village” in Shanghai Biennale in 2014; in 2020, she returned to MVRDV and continue her expedition with the office.
Carmen is actively involved in architecture and design sectors and has strong connections with cultural and design media in China, she writes for many prestigious design magazines, including the Chinese editions of Wallpaper*, NOWNESS, IDEAT, Cultural Trip, The Good Life, Architectural Digest, Elle Decoration, among many others; she has translated for a+u, COLORS, Domus, El-Croquis, The Art Newspaper, VICE and a selection of important international publications across art, culture, architecture and design. Before returning to MVRDV, she worked with architects including BIG, SOM, Neri&Hu and a few other international design studios, providing branding strategies and social media services to help their growth in China. Carmen is also an illustrator and tattoo artist with strong interest in exploring the artistic connection between architectural design and graphic art. Carmen received a Master in Translation and a Bachelor of English Literature at Shanghai International Studies University.