Keyi Shi

About

Keyi is a spatial designer from China whose work spans installation, film, and interior design. Her practice investigates the intersections of memory, movement, materiality, and social systems. With a foundation in interior architecture and a keen interest in speculative design, Keyi frequently employs material experimentation to question how space and objects mediate human experience.

During her studies at the RCA, Keyi has concentrated on exploring the relationship between architecture, water, and the urban body—particularly within the context of Canary Wharf, a hyper-dense financial district where water serves more as a visual boundary than an active spatial element. By recognizing the untapped potential of the site’s proximity to the Thames and the adjacent docklands, her proposal introduces a hybrid programe that merges a bathhouse, hotel, and public spaces. Drawing inspiration from the sequential ritual of ancient Roman bathing culture, the design orchestrates a journey through a series of thermal environments.More than just a place of rest, this project offers an urban ritual—a sanctuary where modern city dwellers can pause, reflect, and reconnect with both themselves and their environment.

Keyi’s approach is dynamic and evolving—shifting between expressive organic forms and restrained geometric compositions—while consistently maintaining a profound interest in bodily perception and layered storytelling. She embraces failure as a method, believing that design should invite reflection as much as it offers resolution.