Interview with Pritzker-winning Wang Shu

China’s Wang Shu: From builder to Pritzker-winning architect – the first Chinese architect to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize talks about traditional Chinese architecture, the importance of nature, and applying those traditional principles and methods in his own projects.

… if you look at Chinese traditional buildings, you will find they are not just about the solid structure. They have many outside spaces inside the buildings as people want to live with fresh air, trees, flowers and water together.   …

In China the most important thing is nature. It is not human beings, it is not architecture — it is nature.   …

If you really want to understand traditional Chinese architecture you should really know the craftsman’s work because in China for a long time we did not have architecture theory or history, we did not have architects — we only had craftsmen so the secret was just in the craftsman’s hands.  …

Architecture has become too abstract … (architects) are floating in the air and are not rooted in the ground. I do something that is directly rooted in the ground. I think it is more important.