Wang Shu – special design – maintain architecture heritage.

“Only people who understand the nature of materials can make art using the materials.”

 Wang Shu’s architecture is exemplary in its strong sense of cultural continuity and re-invigorated tradition.
His buildings have the unique ability to evoke the past, without making direct references to history.

Wang creates modern buildings making use of traditional materials and applying older techniques.

The History Museum at Ningbo is one of those unique buildings that while striking in photos, is even more moving when experienced.This building is constructed of bricks salvaged from buildings which had been demolished to facilitate new developments. Wang is a keen supporter of architectural heritage where globalisation has stripped cities of their special attributes.
The museum is an urban icon, a well-tuned repository for history and a setting where the visitor comes first. The richness of the spatial experience, both in the exterior and interior is remarkable. This building embodies strength, pragmatism and emotion.

“The Amateur Architecture Studio is a purely personal architecture studio. It should not be even referred to as an architect’s office because design is an amateur activity and life is more important than design. Our work is constantly refreshed by various spontaneous things that occur. And, most important, we encourage independence and individualism to guarantee the experimental work of the studio.”

One problem of professional architecture is that it thinks too much of a building. A house, which is close to our simple and trivial life, is more fundamental than architecture.” He often expresses that for him, humanity is more important than architecture, while simple handcraft is more important than technology and his approach reveals an experimental and critical attitude toward the building process.

“to me architecture is spontaneous for the simple reason that architecture is a matter of everyday life. When I say that I build a ‘house’ instead of a ‘building’, I am thinking of something that is closer to life, everyday life. “