Wang Shu

Wang Shu (, born 4 November 1963) is a Chinese architect based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He is the dean of the School of Architecture of the China Academy of Art. With his practice partner and wife Lu Wenyu, he founded the firm Amateur Architecture Studio. In 2012, Wang became the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Prize, the world's top prize in architecture. The award was the subject of some controversy since the Pritzker committee did not also award Lu Wenyu, his wife and architectural partner, despite their years of collaboration.

Early life and education Wang Shu was born on 4 November 1963 in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. He began to draw and paint as a child, without any formal training in art. As a compromise between his passion of art and engineering, his parents' recommendation, Wang chose to study architecture at the School of Architecture of Southeast University in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province (previously named Nanjing Institute of Technology) and received a bachelor's degree in 1985 and a master's degree in 1988. Instead, he chose to further his studies at the School of Architecture of Tongji University in Shanghai, earning a PhD in 2000. The museum won the 2009 Lu Ban Prize, the top architecture prize in China.

Wang's other major projects include the Ningbo Museum of Art (2005), the Xiangshan campus of the China Academy of Art (2007) and the Old Town Conservation of Zhongshan Street, Hangzhou (2009).

Design approach Wang creates modern buildings making use of traditional materials and applying older techniques. The Ningbo Museum 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.

"In an age where the goal is to offer a distinct, individualized style, Shu has shied away from such a prerogative. Ironically, with his manner of seamlessly meshing the contemporary with the cultural, innovation with tradition, Shu’s work has come to define itself. The work is infused with fresh material juxtapositions and an expressive quality grounded in traditional formal proportions and scale."

He requires his freshman architecture students to spend a year working with their hands, learning basic carpentry and bricklaying, and Wang also requires other teachers in the department learn basic building skills, because he believes "Only people who understand the nature of materials can make art using the materials."

In 2010, Wang and his wife Lu Wenyu together won the German Schelling Architecture Prize, and in 2011 he received the Gold Medal from the French Academy of Architecture. The chairman of the Hyatt Foundation said Wang's win represented "a significant step in acknowledging the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals" going forward. Zhu Tao, a Chinese architectural critic and historian, speculated that the win could signify a turning point in Chinese architectural history saying the prize "sends a message that architecture is a cultural enterprise ... that architects are creators of culture."

Personal life Wang Shu's father is a musician and an amateur carpenter. His mother is a teacher and school librarian in Beijing. His sister is also a teacher.

Major works Major works by Wang include: Weilaizhitong Science Park (未来之瞳科学公园), Chang'an District, Xi'an (2024)

Under construction or in design phase Heyun Culture and Leisure Centers (2009), Kunming City Cultural Center (2010), Jinhua Shi Li Hong Zhuang Traditional Dowry Museum (2010), Ninghai Contemporary Art Museum on the Dock (2010), Zhoushan Buddhist Institute Library (2011), Hangzhou