The Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia, upon proposal of its President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has appointed architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu as Artistic Directors of the Architecture Department, curators of the upcoming 20th International Architecture Exhibition, which will take place from 8 May to 21 November 2027.
Founders of Amateur Architecture Studio and key figures in the global architectural debate, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu advocate for a practice rooted in place, material culture and environmental responsibility. Their work stands in opposition to demolition, spectacle, and homogenization, proposing instead an alternative based on reuse, vernacular intelligence and local memory.
Simplicity, authenticity, and resistance
In their statement, the curators expressed concern over architecture becoming ‘overly conceptualized or excessively commercialized’, resulting in empty gestures detached from the real world. In an era of multiple crises, they say, “insisting on a simple and true concept and method of architecture has a special value.” Their Biennale aims to reclaim architecture as a cultural act grounded in care, continuity, and critical thinking.
From villages to the world
Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu’s work begins in China but speaks universally. Since founding Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997, they have developed a language that fuses recovered materials and traditional craftsmanship with contemporary engineering—blending memory and innovation.
Among their most notable works are the Ningbo History Museum, the Xiangshan Campus, the Wencun Village Regeneration, the Hangzhou Archives, and the recent Xi’an Opera House.
The New York Times listed their Xiangshan Campus among the 25 most significant buildings since World War II; in 2012 Wang Shu was awarded the Pritzker Prize, and in 2023, the duo joined the Académie d’Architecture in France.
Their work has been featured at the MoMA in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Louisiana Museum, and several past editions of the Venice Biennale.
Architecture that listens
Their practice is a form of critical resistance and future-thinking. Grounded in vernacular culture, material reuse and the power of the ordinary, it challenges dominant models of development and design. At their Hangzhou-based school of architecture, they emphasize manual craft, the study of Chinese gardens, and close observation of everyday landscapes.
According to President Buttafuoco, their vision will "inspire broad and necessary reflection, projecting the Biennale Architettura 2027 toward new perspectives and new ways of understanding our relationship with space, memory, and the engaged community".
Wang Shu Lu Wenyu © La Biennale di Venezia - photo ASAC - Matteo Losurdo
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