Acewin Tam's Architectural Vision: Bridging Design, Community and Social Change
As Acewin Tam prepares to cross the graduation stage at NJIT, she reflects not just on the culmination of five years of rigorous study, but on a deeply personal journey of growth, discovery and purpose. An architecture student whose work straddles the line between the technical and the poetic, Tam has made her mark not only through design excellence but through a commitment to community, justice and innovation.
Her interest in architecture began in high school, in a CAD class coincidentally taught by an NJIT alumnus. What started as curiosity quickly evolved into a passion. “I’ve always liked art and design in general,” she said. “So it felt like architecture was a really good blend of the two, a good mix of both the sciences and the arts.”
That blend of disciplines would become a hallmark of her design philosophy. Tam’s academic journey at NJIT has been marked by moments of deep introspection and transformative learning. One pivotal experience came during her third year, in a housing studio. “One thing that my critic in that semester taught me was to close your eyes, imagine yourself in the space, and imagine the narratives of the people as they're using the space,” she explained. “That was a really interesting way that taught me how to design.”
This people-centered approach became the foundation of her work, especially in projects exploring social issues like gentrification and community cohesion. A favorite among her many studio projects involved a high-rise in Jersey City. “How can we create community,” she wondered, “instead of feeling like it's an alien mothership landing in the area, how can they feel like they have a stake in this building?”
So it felt like architecture was a really good blend of the two, a good mix of both the sciences and the arts.
For Tam, architecture is more than form and function — it’s a medium for storytelling, empathy and activism. “Architecture can be used as social and political commentary, and I think that’s an incredibly powerful tool,” she said. “I’m very grateful NJIT has led me to that realization within these five years.”
Her senior capstone project explored a metaphor between knowledge, free will and society, exemplifying how architecture can provoke thought and dialogue. This evolving perspective is guiding her next steps: graduate studies in urban design at UC Berkeley.
“I have decided to attend UC Berkeley for the Master of Urban Design program. I'm super excited about spending the next year in California and have a feeling that I'll grow a lot personally and professionally,” she said. “It'll be my first time away from home long term, so I think the new urban environment will teach me a lot about design and what kind of person I am/want to be.”
Urban design offers Tam the potential to expand beyond a singular building and see how design can impact the larger society, how can design serve as a catalyst for social, political, ideological change impacting the larger society.
Outside of the classroom, Tam’s leadership extended into NJIT’s professional community. Through her involvement in Alpha Rho Chi, a professional architecture fraternity, she secured a meaningful internship experience and developed relationships with mentors who guided her along the way.
In the classroom and beyond, Tam has embraced emerging tools like artificial intelligence not as shortcuts, but as springboards for creativity. “It’s never to copy and paste what the AI came up with,” she clarified, “but to see what they output and see how you can put your own twist on it.”
As she looks to the future, Tam’s goals are grounded in a thoughtful balance of idealism and pragmatism. “I’m looking to find myself at a firm, where it's not just about profits and money, but also understanding the impacts that we have on society.”
She offers wise advice forged from her own experience to incoming architecture students: “Work hard, play hard — you need to know when to dedicate yourself to school, when it asks for it, when it demands it.”
And though she’s not planning a big party, graduation holds deep emotional meaning. “I didn’t get to walk down the aisle for my last two graduations,” she said. “So this is going to be super exciting, the only graduation I can remember.”
For Tam, the moment is more than a celebration — it’s a reflection of a vision years in the making, and the first step toward building a better world.
