Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu Unveil 2027 Biennale Theme

Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu presented their theme yesterday at Ca' Giustinian, the head office of La Biennale di Venezia, with Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Biennale. Buttafuoco remarked that Amateur Architecture Studio's China Academy of Art in Hangzhou—a project they have designed and carried out in phases—persuaded him to appoint them as curators for the 20th International Architecture Exhibition taking place next year: “finding myself—and moving—within their buildings was the most formidable of counter-examples to the most convincing of theories.”

Before his remarks, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu presented the theme they have developed over the last six months: Do Architecture —For the Possibility of Coexistence Facing a Real Reality. The presentation also included a pre-recorded video featuring the couple emphasizing the beauty and importance of gardens, particularly Chinese gardens, within a world marked by war: “The garden is a gentle resistance to a violent world.” 

Their thematic statement is below, accompanied by slides from their presentation, each of which asked a question: “How can man-made structures coexist with nature?” “How can modern urban planning coexist with natural growth?” “How can craftsmanship and modern mechanized construction coexist?” 

All these questions point to one essential path: facing real reality and local practice, and directly “do architecture,” especially a kind of “do” that is grounded in bodily touch. It is precisely through this concrete act of “do” that things which seem impossible to bring together can gather in one place. This is the theme we propose for the Biennale Architettura 2027: Do Architecture —For the Possibility of Coexistence Facing a Real Reality.

In the face of global climate change, can active and passive approaches to design, strategy, and technology work alongside one another? Can land and architecture coexist? Can more natural materials and local craftsmanship overcome conceptual and technical barriers to stand alongside modern design and construction as their primary components? Can memory and innovation coexist dialectically? Can the efficiency of modern design and construction coexist with slower, more meaningful forms of craftsmanship? Can we resolve the conflict between urban and rural models of development? Is there a way for them to coexist while preserving the vulnerable character of rural areas?

We believe that architecture is not only something to be discussed but, more importantly, something to be done first-hand. The philosophy of architecture is a philosophy of how to do: a practice that confronts real reality, in real places, through real construction.

We believe that architecture as an effort to protect local cultural heritage can coexist with architecture as an avant-garde force for social transformation. Only in this way can architecture preserve its value in an age flooded by technology. Only in this way can humanity, through architecture, preserve a tangible value. Only through continuous struggle can hope be kept alive.