姚凱琳從事城市設計及研究工作，於跨國企業任職時期曾主理大型規劃及城市景觀設計項目，在美國／歐洲及上海等各地工作生活多年後於2018年回港定居。從空間設計專業出發，以建築及城市設計經驗融合文化藝術的興趣和背景，轉型研究城市建築及文化發展議題。現為香港中文大學建築學院講師及博士候選人，主要範疇為文化建築及公共空間，探討文化機構／體制如何影響建築空間的形成。
Melody Yiu is an urban designer active in both practice and research. Graduated with a bachelor degree in architecture and a master diploma in urban design, she has worked on award-winning masterplan and urban design projects in China and abroad, with a focus on compact city and sustainable development. After 15 years of practice, she integrates her professional knowledge in urban design with her personal interest in cultural industry, to take to the fields of research in urbanism and cultural development.
Since 2015, Melody has been teaching design studios and advising master’s theses at the University of Nottingham (Ningbo), China Academy of Arts (Hangzhou), and the University of Hong Kong, while also serving on expert panels for planning bureau workshops in Ningbo and Shanghai. Having completed her executive master’s degree at the London School of Economics in 2018, Melody is currently a PhD candidate at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, researching on institution and public space formation at cultural buildings.
