Chinese architect's win builds national pride

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Chinese architect Wang Shu, poses in front of a building he designed at the Xiangshan campus of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, in a file photo from March 2009.

By Isabella Zhong, NBC News

BEIJING – Every year, thousands of Beijing’s century-old alleyways and historical courtyard residences are demolished to make way for high-rising blocks of concrete and glass.

But now one Chinese architect, who has it made his life work to honor China’s rich history and culture by using salvaged materials in modern forms, has been given architecture’s highest honor for his efforts.

Wang Shu, a 48-year-old Hangzhou-based architect, is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. 

With much of China’s rapid development being fueled by Western architects, China is pleased to see one of their own honored.

‘Appreciation for traditional Chinese architecture’
Wang was born in Urumqi, in the western Chinese province Xinjiang.  He and his wife, Lu Wenyu, founded their Hangzhou-based architecture firm, called Amateur Architecture Studio, in 1997. Wang has said he is highly passionate about the “handicraft aspect” of his trade, and shows an equally passionate disdain for the “the professionalized, soulless architecture that is practiced today.”

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Professor Lu Jiwei, Wang’s PhD supervisor when he was at Tongji University, spoke to NBC about his impressions of Wang as a student. He said Wang was “a highly focused and grounded student who showed a deep sense of appreciation for traditional Chinese architecture and innovatively incorporated elements of it into his own designs.”

Indeed, many of Wang’s notable works, which include the Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum and the China Academy of Art’s Xiangshan Campus, display a distinct Chinese flavor that tends to be absent from many contemporary structures seen in China today.

For instance, with the China Academy of Art building, Wang covered the campus buildings with more than 2 million reused tiles from demolished traditional homes.

“Everywhere you can see, they don’t care about the materials,” Mr. Wang was quoted as saying in the New York Times. “They just want new buildings, they just want new things. I think the material is not just about materials. Inside it has the people’s experience, memory — many things inside. So I think it’s for an architect to do something about it.” 

However, as eco-friendly buildings with modern interior spaces, Wang’s work also simultaneously takes into consideration China’s present and future needs.   

Luo believes that Wang was awarded the highest accolade in the architectural world because “he is able to successfully bring China’s architectural heritage to the present.” He added, “Wang’s win is a wonderful thing because a majority of buildings in China have become too generic and lack cultural characteristics; Wang’s designs try to bring back these characteristics.”

Proud nation
Wang’s achievement has been well received by the media and the general public in China. On Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter, more than 90,000 postings about Wang have appeared so far.

The postings range from a simple “Congratulations, Wang Shu!” to excerpts from Wang’s biography and albums of Wang’s notable works.  Many Weibo users have expressed pride about the fact that Wang is the first Chinese national to win what many are dubbing as the “Nobel Prize for Architecture.”

Indeed, the prize, founded in Chicago in 1979 by the Pritzker family, has been likened to the Nobel Prize: winners receive a $100,000 reward.

State-run media organizations, such as China Daily and China Central Television (CCTV), have also run stories about Wang’s win. The China Daily proudly announced “Pritzker Prize goes to Chinese for the first time” on its web site. (I.M. Pei, was the first Chinese-born architect to win the prize in 1983, but he was an American citizen).

China Central Television also mentioned that many celebrities across China, including Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin, co-founders of the Chinese construction giant, SOHO, have posted on Weibo to express their delight about Wang’s win.

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The outspoken, world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei told NBC News: “I’m happy for him. He is a good choice. He has his own way and he has his own style that is different from others. It’s the first time that the Western world has given recognition to a Chinese architect.”

Given the backdrop of the massive socio-economic changes that are currently happening in China, Wang’s win certainly comes at a very interesting time.  As urbanization sees the mass demolition of historical villages for so-called “Lego-set” apartment blocks, and as globalization sees China’s younger generations increasing abandon traditional Chinese customs, Wang’s designs might well serve as a symbol of hope that China’s cultural traditions and its economic growth can go hand-in-hand.

This sentiment was well articulated by Weibo user, Yu Jing Ming, who said “He’s the pride of the Chinese people and the world. Wang Shu is like timely rainfall … it is him staying true to his cultural heritage that has allowed him to win this prize.”

 

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28Feb201211:42am, ESTChinese protester: World Bank will 'ruin China'

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4Mar20121:20pm, ESTSmackdown alert: USA v China

Most popular posts8 comments, including:

This shows that China doesn't have to copy from the West. Chinese can be innovators too. This is Chinese originality at work in various fields. Socialist-democracy with Chinese-style (with Chinese characteristics). In many villages in China democratic elections are being held for many years already, …

older

28Feb201211:42am, ESTChinese protester: World Bank will 'ruin China'

newer

4Mar20121:20pm, ESTSmackdown alert: USA v China

Most popular posts124Not Chinese enough in China? Chinese-Americans caught between 2 worlds6daysago115China struggles to contain wave of defiance in Tibet6daysago96Urine-soaked 'virgin boy eggs' are a springtime taste treat in China5hoursago1'Great Leap Brewery': Pursuing the American Dream in China22Mar20123:49pm, EDT139One woman's desperate stand to protect her home from demolition22Mar20126:48am, EDTAdvertise | AdChoicesDiscuss this postBillie-2352729

It is a nice design, good job.

#1 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 12:42 AM ESTRobert-1994113

Wow! It is about time. Fantastic!!

#2 - Thu Mar 1, 2012 4:11 AM ESTLarry-367607

Design looks wierd and impractical to me but to each his own.

#3 - Fri Mar 2, 2012 4:18 AM ESTAC Robertson

It least they are not building, stick buildings like the USA. That might last 20+years without - major repair work...

I designed & built a 2,000 sqft house in Asia. Concrete slab/tile floors & solid block walls - 1st floor and recycled mahogany floors & walls second floor, with steel rafters & tile roof. Cost $35,000+USD and it will last 100+years...

Solar water heater, cistern water storage/termal wall, with energy saving lights & appliances. Last month my electric bill was $15+USD - 110Kwatts...

You can build smart or build stupid and pay the suppliers & repairers...

1 vote#4 - Fri Mar 2, 2012 10:40 PM ESTVictor C.

Made in China! :)

1 vote#5 - Fri Mar 2, 2012 11:27 PM ESTMissy Miyashiro

I think its wonderful he is combining his heritage, recycling used but still good materials, and yet updating it for the future.

#6 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 4:13 AM ESThm-2105988

I would also like to take this opportunity to award the Chinese government “The Pernicious Veto Power Award” that contributed to the continuous murder and slaughter of the Syrian people by the Syrian regime.

#7 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 8:28 PM ESTsingaThis shows that China doesn't have to copy from the West. Chinese can be innovators too. This is Chinese originality at work in various fields. Socialist-democracy with Chinese-style (with Chinese characteristics). In many villages in China democratic elections are being held for many years already, as in Wukan that everybody knows so well. Socialist-democracy, with Socialism guiding and supervising democracy, so that peoples' interests is above corporate greed we see in the West that has turned the Western-style liberal democracy model into chaos in USA and Europe. You will see more Chinese-style creativity and innovation in the future. Welcome to the new world order. China doesn't have to play by Western rules. They can set new rules that can beat the old ossified ways of thinking.

1 vote#8 - Sun Mar 4, 2012 11:39 PM ESTLeave a Comment:Name: Email Address (will be verified, but never shown): You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.You're in XHTML Mode. If you prefer, you can use Easy Mode instead.(XHTML tags allowed - a,b,blockquote,br,code,dd,dl,dt,del,em,h2,h3,h4,i,ins,li,ol,p,pre,q,strong,ul)Post to my Facebook WallNewsvine Privacy StatementAs a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.Browsechina, ed-flanagan, featured, adrienne-mong, bo-gu, world-news, beijing, eric-baculinao, human-rights, economy, u-s, ai-weiwei, tibet, north-korea, diplomacy, asia, hong-kong, protest, environment, internet, ipad, basketball, wukan, apple, pla, one-child-policy, nobel-peace-prize, us, jeremy-lin, wen-jiabao, nba, chen-guangcheng, air-pollution, ian-williams, trade, dissidents, liu-xiaobo, protests, taiwan, censorship, jasmine-rallies, hu-jintao, twitter, weibo, japan, unrestAlsoAdvertise | AdChoices

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