Amateur architecture studio in amateur eyes

This past few months I have been busy with graduation design, that in the same time also allowed me to visit some of the works of Amateur Architecture Studio or we know more as the first Chinese Pritzker prize winner, WangShu. He won the pritzker prize in 2012 that actually quite surprising for us even in China, so I believe it was even more surprising for people outside China. I have been seeing his works through internet and magazines, but never really saw one until these past months, so let's see what makes this guy won the higher architecture prize in the world.

Ningbo Historical Museum

This was the project that made Wangshu won the pritzker prize, it shows Wangshu's architecture characteristics strongly, with the facade that we call it 'Wangshu facade', a combination of recycle materials from the neighborhood. I enjoy looking at the way they pile up on the top of each other, and create this beautiful facade. The interior is pretty simple, consists of thick concrete walls and U shape glass and some ornaments on the ceiling. To be honest I was expecting something surprising when I go inside, but the first time I went inside the lobby, it didn't feel welcoming at all, it is just an empty space with a three stories void, with no object or anything to see. Over all, the building didn't excite me as I expected, but I learned a lot about the details that Wangshu paid attention to in the building, from the exterior masonry facade to the interior surface of the concrete wall.

Ningbo art museum

The art museum is far smaller than the historical museum, yet I feel it's actually more beautiful than the other museum. The museum is pretty simple, consists of two big galleries on the first floor, plus open corridor and big wooden pivot doors for the facade and temporary gallery underground. I can feel that the facade is well maintained, the wood are still in very good qualities, but some part of the interior feels dirty and unfinished. If you guys a big fan of art museum, this building is a must see one, they have beautiful paintings inside!

Xiangshan Campus

Different from the previous two, this project is located in a mountainous area in Hangzhou, which is one of the most beautiful city in China. I feel like the design value the nature surroundings, it was a very comfortable feeling to be in the architecture and the mountain at the same time. Amongst all of the buildings in the area, the visitor center amazed me the most, I love getting 'lost' inside it, following staircases and ramps that will lead us through the whole building and up to the roof. The studios and classrooms are pretty good, but there are some parts that were just leftover and lack of maintenance.

Zhongshan Road

Zhongshan road is a shopping street that is redesigned by Wangshu, the old street used to be a popular area but frequently get flooded, so Chinese government reclaimed it and build a new road and environment above it. One of the most famous building along the street is the museum of Zhongshan road, we can see the old road under the new one. The museum is a very small building basically just to tell people the history of the neighborhood. What makes this small building interesting is the ceiling of the museum that is actually an old China bridge design called Rainbow bridge. It is made of wood that connect and support each other with neither nails nor bolt.

I think Wangshu has a very strong design characteristic in every of his building. He showed us a humble way to design and a very smart way to use materials. He embrace the environment and history of the place, turn it into a strong point of his design. He proved the world when he received the pritzker on 2012 that Chinese architects are now one of the top in the world.