Amateur Architecture
“Humanity is more important than architecture, and craftsmanship more important than technology”
China’s first and only recipient of the Pritzker — the world’s most respected prize for architecture — Wang Shu, along with his wife and practice partner Lu Wenyu are the founders of Hangzhou-based practice Amateur Architecture Studio. The name refers to the couple’s rejection of what the pair say is the “professional, soulless architecture" practiced in China. Their interests lie in vernacular Chinese architecture, traditional techniques, craftsmanship and locally sourced materials.
“Reducing tradition to a decorative symbol and then applying it to the surface of a modern construction... that’s exactly what kills the true meaning of tradition.”
Over the last ten years, Amateur Architecture Studio has created a respected body of work and a unique style that challenges the role of the architect today in China and internationally.
This summer a retrospective exhibition of the work of Amateur Architecture Studio at the arc en rêve centre d'architecture in Bordeaux, organized in partnership with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, showcases five projects with a series of models, material samples, large scale photography.
The exhibition runs from 31 May – 28 October 2018 at arc en rêve centre d'architecture, Bordeaux. For more on Wang Shu, check out the feature on the Hangzhou Academy by Amateur Architecture Studio written by Alastair Gordon in issue 2 of Design Anthology.
Text / Suzy Annetta
Exhibition images / Rodolphe Escher
Project images / Iwan Baan
