|
Wang Shu is China’s first ever winner of the renowned Pritzker Prize for Architecture. With his innovative approaches, Arno Brandlhuber has been stirring up the European architectural scene for many years. Both architects have a similar understanding of sustainability: the less that is newly produced and the more use that is made of existing materials, the better the eco-balance of a building. Both are vehement opponents of the current demolition mania.
In many of his structures, such as the Xiangshan Campus in Hangzhou, Wang Shu utilizes bricks from demolished villages. Some of those bricks are centuries old. Traditional craft techniques are practiced on his building sites. In an attempt to stem mass migration to cities, Wang Shu designs attractive and comfortable homes for the rural population.
Arno Brandlhuber sees potential where others only see ruins. The architect prefers to work with structures that already exist, transforming them into attractive spaces for living or working through ingenious and imaginative design. His processes require minimum material to attain maximum flexibility and usability for the building’s inhabitants.
Wang Shu and Arno Brandlhuber – two extraordinary architects fighting passionately for their sustainability principles in architecture. |