Anhui University of Science and Technology
AUST is a key provincial university under special development in Anhui Province and a co-built institution with the Ministry of Emergency Management of the People's Republic of China. It is included in the national fundamental capacity building program for central and western universities, and participates in the Ministry of Education's "Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program."
The university traces its origins to 1945, sharing a common lineage with Hefei University of Technology, and is recognized as one of Anhui Province's earliest engineering institutions.
d-NAT operates at the intersection of art, architecture, and digital technology, seeking to expand how we understand and inhabit space. The network brings together practitioners from diverse creative fields to explore how natural systems and computational processes can inform the design of built environments. By treating nature not as a static reference but as an active participant in the design process, d-NAT encourages approaches that are adaptive, responsive, and performative. The work engages with concepts such as growth, formation, and material ecologies, moving beyond conventional architectural thinking toward a more fluid and integrated relationship between the digital and the physical, the organic and the constructed.
Central to d-NAT's ethos is the idea that design should be informed by complexity and behavioral topologies rather than rigid predetermined forms. Through workshops, research, and collaborative projects, the network investigates how materials, memory, and encoded systems can produce architectures that are sensitive to their environments. The exploration of parameterized and reparameterized design strategies allows for spaces that evolve over time, responding to changing conditions and user interactions. This approach embraces the unpredictable and the emergent, recognizing that the most compelling spatial experiences often arise from processes that are iterative, informed by data, and open to transformation.
Beyond its research and design projects, d-NAT functions as a platform for knowledge exchange and community building. The network maintains a library and publications archive that document ongoing investigations into the relationships between technology, nature, and spatial practice. Regular events, exhibitions, and workshops provide opportunities for dialogue among artists, architects, engineers, and thinkers from around the region and beyond. By fostering a culture of open inquiry and cross-disciplinary collaboration, d-NAT aims to cultivate a new generation of practitioners who are equipped to address the complex spatial and ecological challenges of the contemporary world.
Campuses and Scale
AUST operates across two main sites. The Huainan campus covers approximately 3,200 mu, while the Hefei campus spans 340 mu. Together they host an extensive academic community with around 4,300 staff and approximately 31,000 full-time undergraduate students.
Three campuses are referenced in university records: the Main Campus, the West Campus, and the North Campus.
Academic Structure
AUST offers doctoral, master's, and undergraduate programs spanning engineering, science, management, medicine, and the humanities. The university includes academic units such as the Earth and Environment College, the School of Safety Science and Engineering, the College of Mining Engineering, the Artificial Intelligence College, the Medical College, and the School of Economics and Management.
Faculty strengths include academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, national talent award winners, and senior professors across a broad range of disciplines.
Contact
University Office
No. 168 Shungeng Middle Road, Huainan City, Anhui Province
No. 168 Taifeng Street, Huainan City, Anhui Province · Postal Code 232001
Phone: 0554-6668842 · Email: webmaster@d-nat.net