Li Hu (architect)

Li Hu is a Chinese architect and professor. He is the founding partner of OPEN Architecture, Kenzo Tange Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design,^[1] visiting professor at the Tsinghua University in Beijing and China Central Academy of Fine Arts, former partner of Steven Holl Architects, and director of Columbia University GSAPP's Studio-X Beijing.^[2]

Education

Hu received his B. Arch. from Tsinghua University in Beijing in 1996 and his M. Arch. from Rice University in 1998.^[3]

Work

While working at Steven Holl Architects as a partner, Li Hu played a key role in the creation of several notable buildings. These include the Linked Hybrid in Beijing,^[4] the Vanke Center in Shenzhen,^[5] Raffles City in Chengdu, and the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing.^[6]

In 2010, Li Hu left Steven Holl Architects to focus on his own practice, OPEN Architecture, which he co-founded with Huang Wenjing in 2006 in New York City. OPEN Architecture is a collaborative studio that explores new architectural possibilities in the context of contemporary China and beyond. Some of the firm's notable projects include Garden School/Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus, the Gehua Youth and Cultural Center, the UCCA Dune Art Museum,^[7] Yichang Grand Theatre,^[8] the Tank Shanghai art complex,^[9] Pingshan Performing Arts Center,^[10] and the Chapel of Sound.^[11]

Li Hu has been the recipient of “50 under 50: Innovators of the 21st Century” ^[12] and ICON Magazine's “Future 50”^[13]

Li Hu is often invited to speak at global academic conferences and universities. Additionally, he regularly serves as a jury member and curator for various international design competitions and exhibitions.^[14][15]

His work UCCA Dune Art Museum has been collected by Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.^[16]

Li Hu has also participated in the Venice Biennale China Pavilion in 2021 and 2014, the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial in 2015,^[17] the “Soul of the City” in Verona, Italy in 2017,^[18] and the China House Vision in 2018.^[19][20]

Li Hu and Huang Wenjing co-authored three books titled OPEN Questions (2018),^[21] Towards Openness (2018)^[22] and OPEN Reaction (2015).^[22] Catherine Shaw authored the book Reinventing Cultural Architecture: A Radical Vision by OPEN which was published by Rizzoli in 2022.^[23][24][25]

Selected projects

• Yantai Sun Tower^[26]
• Chapel of Sound^[27][28]
• Shanfeng Academy^[29]
• Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School^[30]
• Tank Shanghai^[31]
• Pingshan Performing Arts Center^[32]
• UCCA Dune Art Museum^[33]
• Tsinghua Ocean Center^[34]
• HEX-SYS^[35]
• Mars Case^[36]

• Garden School/Beijing No.4 High School Fangshan Campus^[37]
• Gehua Youth and Cultural Center^[38]