Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu will curate the 20th Venice Architecture Biennale.
The duo founded the Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997, before establishing the architecture department at the China Academy of Art in 2003, then after that the School of Architecture in 2007. They took part in the China Pavilion at the 2006 Architecture Biennale and were invited to participate in the Architecture Biennale in 2010 – where they received the Special Mention for their project ‘Decay of a Dome’ – and in 2016.
Their work focuses on existing material, vernacular tradition and the process and craftsmanship of artisans on the construction site. They combine recycled old building materials with modern engineering techniques to offer a response to contemporary urban development that involves large-scale demolition and construction. Their best known projects include the Ningbo Historic Museum, the Xiangshan Campus of China Academy of Art, the Tiles Hill in Hangzhou, the renovation of Wencun Village, the Museum of Ancient Animals in Baoding and the Xi’an Opera House and Concert Hall.
Speaking on their appointment, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu said ‘In the current world, the rapid and multiple changes in architecture are more a phenomenon of appearance, the result of excessive conceptualization or marked commercialization. Conceptual experiments driven to extremes are often divorced from reality and over-commercialization tends to be merely popular and short-lived. This phenomenon changes rapidly in order to survive, breaking away from the connection with the real place. It will lead to the death of architecture. Therefore, architecture becomes a kind of delusional expression about the future. For this reason, in the face of the real crisis of this world, insisting on a simple and true concept and method of architecture has a special value. We will strive to present this value and exploration with the greatest sincerity for a better reality and future.’
The 20th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia will take place from 8 May – 21 November, 2027.
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