Co-founded by architects and graphic designers, aptdotapt is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in New York, Basel, and Shanghai.
We see ourselves as an*apartment*—a shared space where individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds and life experiences exchange ideas and inspire each other.
We aspire to create innovative forms and sensory experiences that transcend disciplinary boundaries to create meaningful and resonant experiences.
We are dedicated to collaborating with creative partners who value aesthetics, cultural depth, and innovative thinking.
We craft tangible poetry through space, branding, and visual design.
Partners
Leanne Letong Meng
Leanne Meng is a multidisciplinary architect and designer with a comprehensive background in architecture, brand strategy, and marketing. She earned her Master of Architecture from Yale University, where she also cross-registered at the Yale School of Management. Leanne is dedicated to exploring cultural foundations within Eastern contexts, aiming to uncover aesthetic values through the power of design. She believes that exceptional design transcends problem-solving, creating moving experiences and lasting memories. Leanne brings to the team a multidisciplinary perspective that bridges the humanities, arts, and commerce, advancing aptdotapt's design philosophy and practice. She excels at capturing the logical narratives behind inspiration.
Jinrui Zhang
Jinrui Zhang holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University, where he also studies at the Yale School of Management for commercial real estate and product management. At Yale, he served as an urban design researcher and as a digital product designer at the Tsai CITY. Jinrui's expertise spans various scales and media, enabling him to transform conceptual ideas into tangible architectural forms. His diverse experiences across Asia, United States, and Australia have endowed him with a global perspective and a multifaceted approach to design. He places a strong emphasis on materiality, detailing, construction, and context. Exploring the essence of locality remains a central theme in his architectural journey.
Zheye Cai
Zheye Cai earned his Master's degree in Digital Communication Environments from the Basel School of Design in Switzerland, focusing on branding and graphic design. Zheye focuses on the nuanced relationship between two-dimensional graphics and three-dimensional spaces, believing that graphic images are the fundamental units of spatial-temporal sequences. He has established a distinctive visual and branding approach for aptdotapt, and his extensive practical experience equips him with a strong ability to implement design concepts effectively. He continually explores how design can create lasting impact beyond momentary impressions.
2025 Dezeen Awards China, Shortlisted
Drop-Stop Pavilion
2025 Wallpaper * 卷宗, Editor’s Selection: Best Meditative Realm
2025 New York TDC71, Winner
Performance-Based Assessment in Early Childhood
2024 Tokyo TDC, selected as one of the works deemed “excellent“
1. Speed Carting,
2. The people i see, the machines i here.
2024 Design 360 Awards, 2*100 Design of the Year, short list (Editor, Poster)
1. Performance-Based Assessment in Early Childhood
2. HGK&XAFA
2023 Design 360 Awards, 100 Design of the Year
Speed Carting
2023 GDC, 2*Excellent Award
1. Speed Carting,
2. Tyre Rubber.
2023 The 10th national exhibition of book design in China, Excellent Award Over Rewarded
2022 New One Award, New Talented – (Portfolio Category)
1. Speed Carting,
2. Over Rewarded,
3. Memories of the factory,
4. Font design,
5. Descent into Nightmare,Isolation Dairy.
2022 Platinum ORIGINALITY, 2*Jury Award (Xu Zhenting, Mina Tabel), Silver
Award(Branding)
Speed Carting
Awards
Teaching
2024 Graduate 360, 2*100 Graduation Works of the Year 1, 2
1. Value Factory
2. 04:42:15 04:00:18 05:55:15 02:57:25
2024 SGDA Graduation Design Award 1, 2
1. Value Factory
2. Let‘s have a meeting
2024 KTK Design AwardNorthwes, 2*Gold Award (Poster,Comprehensive),2*Silver Award (Poster, Animated Poster), Bronze Award (Poster)
Value Factory
2024 New One Award, Bronze Award (Poster)1, 2*Merit Award (Editor)3, 4
1. Value Factory
2. 04:42:15 04:00:18 05:55:15 02:57:25
3. Unspeakble
2024 Platinum ORIGINALITY, Grand Award 1, Gold Award (Poster)2, Excellence Award
(Comprehensive Category)2
1. 04:42:15 04:00:18 05:55:15 02:57:25
2. Value Factory
2023 XI' AN TDC Award, Editor
Unspeakble
Publication
2025 Dezeen, China’s Most Popular Architecture Project in February
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Archdaily
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Wallpaper
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Designboom
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Gooood
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 FRAME
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Architizer
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Divisare
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 ELLE Decoration (Chinese Edition)
Drop Stop Pavilion
2025 Wallpaper China * April Publication
Drop Stop Pavilion
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