Author Description

Amateur Attitude examines the recent work of the Chinese architect Wang Shu, Pritzker Prize winner in 2012. Exhibiting a contemporary aesthetic, the architect's buildings show his intense engagement with their setting and its history, coupled with a reliance on traditional building techniques. He often reuses materials from city districts that have been torn down. This approach is based on a critical attitude toward the kind of overly rationalized architecture being built today in many of the world's cities, where effi ciency seems to be the primary watchword. Wang Shu's architecture reveals instead a thoughtful attitude toward both design and implementation, as well as the ability to react fl exibly to the context of a particular site - something he characterizes as an "Amateur Attitude." The essays place the architect's work in its contemporary context, while extensive illustrations provide exclusive insights into his varied creative work.