Architects and educators, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu founded Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997. Together they established the Architecture Department at the China Academy of Art in 2003 and the School of Architecture in 2007, where Wang Shu is its first Dean and Lu Wenyu is the Director of the Sustainable Construction Center.

Among their best-known projects are the Ningbo Historic Museum, the Xiangshan Campus of the China Academy of Art, the Huang Gongwang Museum in Fuyang, Tiles Hill in Hangzhou, the renovation of Wencun Village, the National Archives of Publications and Culture in Hangzhou, the preservation and renovation of Southern Song Imperial Street, the Lin An Historic Museum, the Museum of Ancient Animals in Baoding, the Jin Sha Traditional Chinese Academy in Xia Men and the Xi'an Opera House and Concert Hall.

The work of Wang Shu, the recipient of the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize, and Lu Wenyu has been exhibited around the world. They are also no strangers to the Biennale. They took part in the China Pavilion at the 2006 Biennale, and were invited to participate in the 2010 Biennale by Kazuyo Sejima (where they received the Special Mention for the project “Decay of a Dome”) and in the 2016 Biennale directed by Alejandro Aravena.

The 20th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice will take place from Saturday, May 8 to Sunday, November 21, 2027.