Wu Liangyong

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Wu Liangyong (吴良镛), born 7 May 1922 in Nanjing, is a Chinese architect and urban planner. He was a longtime professor of urban planning, architecture, and design at Tsinghua University and played a key role in shaping modern Chinese architecture.

Education and career start: He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture at National Central University (now part of Nanjing University) and a master’s degree at the Guangxi Art Academy. He also studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States. In 1946, together with Liang Sicheng, he helped found the Faculty of Architecture at Tsinghua University, where he taught for about 50 years.

Leadership and influence: Wu held important roles in many professional groups, including vice-president of the International Union of Architects and of the Architecture Society of China. He also chaired the World Society for the Science of Human Settlements and the Urban Planning Society of China. He is widely regarded as the most influential architect and urban planner in China.

Projects and impact: He contributed to several major Beijing projects, such as Ju’er Hutong, the Beijing library, and the expansion of Tiananmen Square. He also redeveloped Guilin and worked on the Central Art and Design Academy of the Confucius Institute. For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he led a team studying the architecture of the games.

Awards and recognition: Wu received many honors. He was the first recipient of the State Education Commission’s Award for Scientific and Technological Progress. In 1993 he won the United Nations World Habitat Award for the Ju’er Hutong project, followed by the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize (1995) and the UIA Architectural Education Prize (1996). In 2002 he received the Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands, which highlighted his architectural work and his ten-volume encyclopedia of regional architectures around the world.

Personal note: He turned 100 in May 2022, marking a long life of influence on Chinese architecture and city planning.