Meet Zhifei Xu | Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zhifei Xu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zhifei, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Before starting my own practice, I worked at a range of firms — from large international offices to smaller, more experimental ateliers. Those experiences were invaluable, but I often felt that I was spending too much time exploring design options that didn’t truly resonate with me. It made me realize how important it is to create work that I genuinely believe in — work that feels appropriate to its context, that is interesting and sensitive, and that can contribute something meaningful to the world.

After graduating, I was fortunate to intern at Jean Nouvel’s office in Paris, where I met my current partner, Zimo Zhang. We discovered that we both shared a desire to pursue our own design work outside of the traditional office structure. The opportunity came when we won a small competition in France, and it became the catalyst for starting our own practice — a way for us to explore ideas and architecture that reflect who we are as designers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets our work apart is the way each project begins — not with a style, but with a simple but interesting concept. From there, we develop the design with sensitivity to atmosphere, context, and detail. We’re deeply interested in how architecture relates to its surroundings, and we always try to create a slight shift — something that feels familiar but subtly different from what’s been done before. Even as we pursue difference, we avoid forcing form for its own sake.

I studied at UC Berkeley and MIT — two very different academic environments that shaped me in complementary ways. After graduating, I‘ve worked on projects across U.S., Europe, and China, across offices of all scales. Those experiences exposed me to many different ways of building and thinking, different office organization and pushed me to question what kind of design practice I wanted to establish.

Starting a practice from scratch is never easy. Balancing design ideals with reality is one thing — but building a business that pays the bills is another. Finding clients, staying viable… it’s all been trial and error. I wouldn’t say I’ve learned any big lessons — it’s more like crossing the river by feeling the stones.

But one thing has stayed constant: the work is only as good as the people behind it. The most rewarding projects have always come out of strong relationships — collaborations built on trust, shared curiosity, and a common sense of what matters.

My studio is called ELSE. To me, it means being somebody else, and designing something else. It’s about stepping outside of expectations — to imagine differently, to work differently, and to build differently.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ll bring my friend to the Case Study House #22, the iconic Stahl House by Pierre Koenig. That famous photograph of this house perched on the hill looking out over the city at night by Julius Shulman, defined my very impression of California modernism, and of Los Angeles.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shoutout to the talented architect friends and collaborators I’ve worked with over the years. Architecture is a challenging profession — it’s a collective endeavor and a long process that depends on teamwork and trust. I’m grateful for all the conversations, ideas, and shared efforts that have shaped the work we do together.

The more I practice architecture, the more I feel that it’s not just about running an architecture office — it’s about building a friend practice. Who you work with matters most. Only when you’re working with people you trust, respect, and share a similar mindset and goals with can you actually make something good. And in the end, each project becomes a quiet record of the time, energy, and life that everyone involved put into it.

Website: https://www.elsedesign.net

Instagram: xz_fei