Foto cortesía de la Bienal de Venecia

Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, the founders of Amateur Architecture Studio, have been appointed to curate the 20th Venice Architecture Biennale, where they propose to address what they call “the death of architecture.” Renowned architects and educators, they established their practice in 1997, and pushed for the creation of the Architecture Department of the China Academy of Art in 2003 and the School of Architecture in 2007, consolidating their commitment to tradition, craftsmanship, and modernity as well as with recycling, memory, and experimentation rooted in the vernacular.

For the Biennale – which will run from 8 May to 21 November 2027 – the Chinese tandem plans a direct critique on contemporary architecture, dominated, as they see it, by excessive conceptualization and commercialization. They point out that these tendencies have given rise to works disconnected from reality, spectacular but vacuous forms incapable of responding to the complexity of present times.

This phenomenon, they warn, could lead to a profound loss of architectural purpose, so Lu and Wang defend a return to simple methods grounded on local contexts. Their intention in the Biennale is to present architecture of the kind that is sincere and able to offer lasting solutions to the current crises.

Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu curators of the Biennale Architettura 2027