3h57m is a practice of architecture and ecology.
It begins with infrastructural modernity,
yet turns toward dwelling,
where space gathers memory,
and the earth and the built quietly attend one another.
Founded by Yvonne Yexuan Gu, the name 3h57m comes from the runtime of her favorite film--a nearly four-hour unfolding marked by patience and depth. It mirrors the practice’s belief in slowness: design as a deliberate unfolding, where time and care allow meaning to emerge.
Currently a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Yvonne has also taught at the University of Cincinnati. She holds a Master of Architecture I from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.