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