[ About ] — Ian Towne
Ian Towne
I am a high school architecture student in Winnetka, Illinois. Since 2024 I have built ten independent, research-driven projects — housing, civic infrastructure, urban plans and material studies — and taught architecture to students in Yunnan, Guizhou and Qingdao through Academic Leaders International.
- Based
- Winnetka, Illinois 60093
- School
- New Trier High School · Class of 2027
- Record
- GPA 4.98 / 5.33 · AMC Honor Roll 120
- Studio
- Notre Dame Architecture Summer Program ’24
- Practice
- Ten independent projects, 2024 — 2026
[ At a glance ]haohaotownet@gmail.com
Education
[ 2023 — 2027 ]
2027
New Trier High School, Winnetka, Illinois
Diploma expected June 2027 · GPA 4.98 / 5.33. Coursework: Architecture Studio I & II, Urban Design, Geometry & Construction Design, Drawing, Wood & Metal Design.
Architecture studio
2023—27
2024
University of Notre Dame — School of Architecture
Summer architecture program: hand drawing, measured drawing and studio critique.
Summer program
2024
2026
Peer Tutor & Physics Teaching Assistant, New Trier
Selected schoolwide from the top 2.5% of the class (tutoring) and the top 8% (physics).
Selected roles
2026—27
Architecture experience
[ Studio · Practice ]
2025 —
President, New Trier Architecture Club
Lead 10+ members through precedent research, site analysis, concept development, critique and presentation — including a Norwich University amphitheater proposal and the Green Bay Road–Winnetka Avenue intersection redesign. Organize workshops and professional guest speakers.
Leadership
2025—present
2025 —
Student Designer, ACE Mentor Program
Work with architects and multidisciplinary mentors on site- and program-based design. Co-developed Transit Commons, a four-level mixed-use redesign of Howard CTA Station, and Lightwell of Memory, an Evanston cultural heritage centre balancing public programs, daylight, circulation and artifact preservation.
Collaboration
2025—present
2024 —
Independent Architecture Designer & Researcher
Ten research-driven projects across resilient housing, urban design, adaptive reuse, transit, high-rise and climate-responsive architecture — using precedent research, site and user analysis, physical and digital modelling and iterative design.
Independent
2024—present
Leadership & technical
[ Beyond the studio ]
2020 —
Founder & Co-Leader, Academic Leaders International
Co-lead English programs serving 500+ students in China and architecture exploration camps for about 50 participants annually across Yunnan, Guizhou and Qingdao.
Founder
2020—present
2022 —
Founder & President, ALI Young Pioneers
Lead 15 volunteers in international service, design education and two annual fundraising events generating roughly $2,000 each.
Service
2022—present
2023 — 24
Founder & President, SeaPerch Robotics Club
Led a five-member team in CAD, wiring, motor integration, buoyancy testing and iterative prototyping — regional Best Design in Speed award.
Technical
2023—2024
Skills & languages
[ Tools of the work ]Design
Architectural drawing
SketchUp
AutoCAD
Revit
Physical modelling
Digital modelling
Site research
Concept development
Critique
Visual communication
Presentation storytelling
Languages
English
Mandarin Chinese
Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy, 2026. Teaching and service work in Yunnan and Guizhou is conducted in Mandarin.
Honors
[ 2023 — 2026 ]
2026
Architectural Imagination and Curiosity AwardNew Trier High School
Architecture
2026
2025
AMC Honor Roll — score 120Top 5% · AIME qualifier
Mathematics
2025
2026
Chinese National Honor Society · Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy
Academic
2026
2023—25
Northshore Sonata Festival — Piano Gold MedalTop 2% · Illinois Music Association First Place, 2023
Music
2023—2025
2025
Village of Northfield — recognitionNorthfield 2050, 99% project score
Urban design
2025
2024—26
The Mother's Canopy — technical exchange referenceMojiang Hani Autonomous County Housing & Urban-Rural Development Bureau · published by Jiangsu Economic Daily, Tide News and China.com
Recognition
2024—2026
Artworks
[ All 09 drawings ↗ ]
[ A ] Shanghai street life at nightOil · 2024.08
[ B ] Pudong, Shanghai CitySketch · 2024.08
Three habits
[ How I work ]01
Research before form
A prompt is not a project until the site, the climate and the people in it have been studied.
02
Detail is the argument
The roof profile, the gap between bricks, the width of a door: this is where an idea becomes architecture.
03
Build it to test it
If a model collapses, the drawing was wrong. Physical building is the fastest critique available.
Next: the work, or a conversation.