Wang Shu and the “Leçon inaugurale” of Ecole de Chaillot, in Paris

Posted on 10 January 2012 by rmhprize

For the first time at the Ecole de Chaillot, a foreign architect was invited to the prestigious « Leçon inaugurale ».

WANG SHU,

Global Award for sustainable Architecture in 2007,

Grande médaille d’or de l’Académie d’Architecture de Paris, in 2011

In February 2012, Wang Shu will be the winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize. France had already fully recognized his extraordinary merit.

He graduated with a degree in architecture from South-East University of Nankin and earned his PHD in 2000 at Tongji University of Shanghai.

In 1998, with his wife, Lu Wenyu, he established his agency Amateur Architecture Studio in Hangzhou. Currently he holds the position of Director of Architecture Department at the University of Hangzhou.

Wang Shu demonstrates a sensitive and poetic approach with traditional savoir-faire, using a very contemporary architectural vocabulary.

Some of his works :

Ningbo contemporary Art Museum (2006)
In the city of Hangzhou, Zhongshan street renovation
The Garden of Tiles at the 10^th Venice Biennal (2006)
The Tengtou-Ningbo pavilion at the Shanghai Universal Exhibition (2010).

WANG-SHU joins the tradition of the « Leçon inaugurale » of Chaillot, a link between creation, history and patrimony. He re-discovers tradition, comprehends it and transcends it.
It is clear that the French architectural elite are taking notice of this talented architect.

Jaén, a cathedral, a square, a 21st century work of art

Posted on 15 December 2011 by rmhprize

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In the historic center of Jaen, the architect Salvador Perez Arroyo, following the pure Castillan tradition of a plaza mayor submitted an innovative design for a square that sublimates the magnificent Renaissance facade of the Santa Maria cathedral, built on the site of a former mosque.

A brilliant example of 21st century Andalousian town planning: a long series of debates took place before the adoption of this plan for the new agora which might now be considered a model for all city squares.

The luminous cathedral facade soars upward ethereally from an empty space occupied by only seven fountains, illuminated at night, and punctuated by copper paving stones set out in the rhythm of the pillars in the nave of the church. Also in copper are the rays of an encrusted sun dial. The square has been paved in black Portuguese granite.

The abundant play of water effectively counterbalances the heat prevalent during certain months, thereby making the square a convivial, pleasant venue for the traditional paseo.

Elsa Ricaud becomes the 23rd RMH Fellow

Posted on 15 December 2011 by rmhprize

On December 3, 2011 a Franco-American Jury, meeting at the George C. Marshall Center, in the Hôtel de Talleyrand, in Paris, recognizes Elsa Ricaud as the 2012 RMH Fellow.