Dr. Heng Zhi is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Design History and Theory since 2021, and a FWF Post-Doc Researcher on the research project “Design Anthropology: Industrial Design and Development” since 2025. She has previously served as a Curator of the Collection at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, an Assistant Professor in the Manual and Material Culture Programme, New Design University, St. Pölten, and a lecturer in the Design and Context Programme at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. Heng studied industrial design at the University for Applied Arts Vienna and Politecnico di Milano, and holds a PhD in design history and theory from the University for Applied Arts Vienna with the title: “Designing the Creative Turn: China’s Design Policy and Changing Culture of the Copy”. Her current research interest lies in the dynamics and geopolitics of design from the perspective of the Global South(s), with a special focus on the cooperation and power relations between China and Africa in the field of design and digital innovation.

Heng has given invited lectures at conferences and institutions such as the Digital Design Summit Weimar, Technical University Beijing, Zurich University of the Arts, University of the Arts Basel, and University of the Arts Kassel. She has curated and chaired numerous exhibitions and symposiums in Europe and China, among others at the Vitra Design Museum, Tsinghua University Beijing, the Victor Papanek Foundation Vienna, Technical University Beijing, and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She was granted the Marietta Blau research scholarship in 2013, the project fund of Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture, and the Otto Mauer Funds for Contemporary Art in 2010. She has also made regular contribution to design and art magazines (Surface Magazine, Modern Magazine, Anothermag, CoboSocial), TV (ARTE, ZDF, France 3, SWR) and newspaper (Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung, Deutschland.de).

Selected Talks and Presentations

„Flick Flack, Der Monobloc: Ein Stuhl von Welt“, ARTE (2024)

„Chair Today, Gone Tomorrow“, Kulturaustausch (2024)

„Shanzhai und die Kultur des Kopierens“, Peter Behrens School of Art, Düsseldorf (2021)

„Kopie, Kreativität und Designkultur in China“,
Digital Bauhaus Summit, Weimar (2018)

“Rolle der Designer in der industrialisierten Welt”, Deutschlandfunk Kultur (2018)

„Auswahl, Sammlung und Vermittlung der Designobjekte bei Vitra Design Museum“, Zurich University of the Arts (2017)

“Creativity and Copy: Design Culture in China”,
University of the Arts Basel (2017)

„Monobloc: Der Weltstuhl aus einem Guss“,
Embru-Werke, Zurich (2017)

Curated Exhibitions

“Seats of Power”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2019)

“Hans J. Wegner: Designing Danish Modern”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2018)

“Kazam! The Furniture Experiments of Charles and Ray Eames”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2017 – 2018)

“Monobloc. A Chair for the World”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2017)

“Dieter Rams. A Modular World”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2017)

“Radical Design!”, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein (2016)

Volkswagen Presentation at Beijing International Motor Show (2014), co-curated with CE+CO Hamburg

“HUMUS: Mario Terzic and the Art Gardens”, Tsinghua University, Beijing (2012), co-curated with Lu Yang