Today it was announced that Wang Shu of Amateur Architecture Studio (which he co-founded with his wife, Lu Wenyu) will be awarded with this year’s Pritzker Prize, which is considered the most prestigious award in architecture. This makes him the first Chinese architect to receive an honor that in previous years has gone to such talents as Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, and Eduardo Souto de Moura. “This is really a big surprise,” Wang said in an official statement. “I suddenly realized that I’ve done many things over the last decade. It proves that earnest hard work and persistence lead to positive outcomes.”
Wang will receive a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion at the formal ceremony, which takes place on May 25 in Beijing. In the meantime, click through to familiarize yourself with some of his most famous projects to date.
Library of Wenzheng College at Suzhou University
Photo credit: ©Lu Wenyu via Inhabitat
Photo credit: ©Lu Wenyu
Photo credit: ©Lu Wenyu
Ningbo Historic Museum
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
New Academy of Art in Hangzhou
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Photo credit: © Iwan Baan via ArchDaily
Xiangshan Campus, China Academy of Art
Photo credit: ©Lv Hengzhong via Inhabitat
Vertical Courtyard Apartments
Photo credit: ©Lu Wenyu via Inhabitat
Photo credit: ©Lu Wenyu via Inhabitat