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Editor’s Note: This feature is part of ‘A Walk With,’ a new series where some of the world’s most visionary urban designers take you on a stroll. See more here.
Hangzhou, ChinaCNN
—
Architects Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu have an intimate take on what architecture should be. For nearly two decades, the husband-and-wife duo have headed up Amateur Architecture Studio, a practice based in Hangzhou, China.
Known for their use of natural materials such as mud, stones and wood, the pair’s buildings are designed to look as if they’ve sprung from their surroundings organically. This stands in stark contrast to the designs of many other firms in modern China, whose buildings are intended to make statements: they’re bigger, bolder and shinier.
Ningbo Historic Museum, Ningbo, China —
Completed in 2008, the Ningbo Museum was built from recycled materials, including debris from nearby towns and villages that had been destroyed to make way for modern developments. Scroll through Amateur Architecture Studio projects, photographed by Iwan Baan.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Ningbo Historic Museum, Ningbo, China —
The museum's design was influenced by both the surrounding nature and Ningbo's history. The building was partly inspired by the East China Sea, which Ningbo has long relied on for trade and commerce.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Ningbo Historic Museum, Ningbo, China —
Amateur Architecture Studio often incorporates traditional Chinese building methods into their work. For the Ningbo Museum they used a technique called wa pan, that allows solid structures to be built from tiles of different shapes and sizes.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Ningbo Historic Museum, Ningbo, China —
"The surroundings, to some extent, are more important than the architecture alone," Wang says. "So architecture should fall under the landscape, not the other way around."
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Fuyang Cultural Complex, Fuyang, China —
Shortly after winning the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2012, architect Wang Shu and his firm Amateur Architecture Studio were invited to design this cultural complex in Fuyang, Anhui province.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Fuyang Cultural Complex, Fuyang, China —
The roof of the complex was designed to blend with the mountain scenery around it. Fuyang is renowned for its mountains, which has often been featured in traditional Chinese paintings.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Fuyang Cultural Complex, Fuyang, China —
Amateur Architecture Studio visited a number of villages in the area to better understand the surroundings. As well as using bricks and tiles, the firm incorporated natural materials like stone and bamboo in his design.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Zhongshan Road Project, Hangzhou, China —
Combining heritage with modernism, Amateur Architecture Studio renovated the historic Zhongshan Road in his home city of Hangzhou.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Wa Shan Guesthouse, Xiangshan, China —
The guest house was built on a campus of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where both Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu are architecture professors.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Wa Shan Guesthouse, Xiangshan, China —
With a name translating as "Tile Mountain," Wa Shan is set across three levels and over 50,000 square feet of floor space.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Wa Shan Guesthouse, Xiangshan, China —
The building is surrounded by hills and trees, with a river flowing close by. Viewed from certain angles, the structure appears as if itself were composed of hills.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Wa Shan Guesthouse, Xiangshan, China —
"In an area, there is not only architecture, but also water, trees, mountains and rocks," Wang said. "The entire group, for Chinese people, is architecture. The geometric objects we call architecture are only part of it -- a small part," says Wang.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Wa Shan Guesthouse, Xiangshan, China —
The guest house was built using natural materials like wood, stone and bamboo. Additionally, the structure's walls were made using 'rammed earth,' a sustainable building technique that uses compressed natural materials instead of bricks and mortar.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
New Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China —
Wang's wife and business partner, Lu Wenyu, is also a professor of architecture at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
New Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China —
Like many of Amateur Architecture Studio's buildings, the Academy's curved roof is designed to resemble the lines found in nature.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
New Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China —
Wang has taught at the academy since 2000, during which time he has designed a number of the institution's buildings.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
New Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China —
"China is renowned for its super engineering projects -- giant projects," says the firm. "But these projects usually are harmful to nature. We propose more 'natural' architecture." Photographs taken by Iwan Baan will feature in the new book "Wang Shu Amateur Architecture Studio" by Lars Müller publishers.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Decay of a Dome, Venice Biennale, Italy —
Displayed at the Venice Architecture Biennale, this wooden installation was designed as an amalgam of Western and Eastern influences. The dome's shape draws on European architectural traditions, but the construction techniques and materials were inspired by traditional Chinese buildings. For more photos by Iwan Baan, head to his Facebook and Instagram.
Image: Courtesy Iwan Baan
Amateur Architecture Studio
Amateur Architecture Studio’s philosophy instead draws on traditional Chinese design values, namely the notion that a building is not the sole focus, but rather part of a greater landscape that encompasses trees, water and mountains.
“The basic philosophy is (that buildings) should blend in,” Wang explains. “The surroundings, to some extent, are more important than the architecture alone. Therefore, the architecture should fall under the landscape, not the other way around.”
“I think ordinary Chinese (people) prefer something appealing and new, so flashier buildings are built,” says Lu. “We can’t stop or destroy things already built. But we can influence the direction of architecture in China with more natural, sustainable designs.”
Wang and Lu expand on these ideas as we follow them on their daily walk around the West Lake in Hangzhou, a body of water that has inspired Chinese artists and creatives for centuries. The pair also walk through the Nanshan campus at China Academy of Art, adjacent to the West Lake – where both are architecture professors.
