Wu Liangyong (, born 7 May 1922) is a Chinese architect and

urban planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

. He was a former professor in urban planning,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

. In preparation to the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, he was leading the team that studied the buildings of the games. He is considered the most influential architect and urban planner in China.

Life

Wu was born in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

on 7 May 1922. In 1944, he obtained a bachelor's degree in architecture at the National Central University (now

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...

) in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

, and a master's degree at the American

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

Art Academy. He also studied at the

Cranbrook Academy of Art The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cr ...

in the United States. Together with professor Liang Sicheng, he founded the Faculty of Architecture on the

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...

in 1946, where he focused on

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, and

. All together he taught fifty years at

.Tsinghua University, China Vitae
biography
/ref> Next to his professorate, Wu carried out different administrative functions. He was vice-president of the

International Union of Architects The International Union of Architects ( French: ''Union internationale des Architectes''; UIA) is the only international non-governmental organization that represents the world's architects, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all. About ...

and of the Architecture Society of China. Furthermore, he was chairman of the World Society for the Science of Human Settlements and of the

Urban Planning Society of China The Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC) (), voluntarily incorporated by urban planners across the People's Republic of China in 1956, is the only legally registered academic organization at state level. Aims UPSC is devoted to organizing interna ...

. His development of the Ju'er Hutong in

is seen as state of the art. Furthermore, he developed the new library of Beijing and the enlargement of

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...

, and redeveloped Guilin and the Central Art and Design Academy of the Confucius Institute. In preparation to the

in Beijing, Wu was leading the team that studied the buildings of the games. Wu received a number of awards. He was the first to win the Award for Scientific and Technological Progress by the State Education Commission. In 1993, he won a

World Habitat Award The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations' International Year of Shelter for the Homeless in 1987. Two awards are given annually to projects fr ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

for his contribution to the house-building project of Ju'er Hutong in Beijing. In 1995, he won the

Ho Leung Ho Lee The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation (HLHL, ) is a Hong Kong-based non-government organisation which annually bestows prizes upon Chinese scientists. It was established on 30 March 1994, with funds donated from the charitable foundations of Ho Sin Han ...

Prize and in 1996 the UIA Architectural Education Prize of the

. Wu was honored with a

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually si ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2002. The jury praised his architectonic work, as well as his compilation of a ten-volume encyclopedia of regional architectures around the world.Prince Claus Fund
profile
/ref> Wu turned 100 in May 2022.

Bibliography (selection)

*1989: ''General Theory of Architecture'' *1991: ''The Second Report on the Rural and Urban Spatial Development Planning Study for the Capital Region'', *1999: ''Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing: A Project in the Ju'Er Hutong Neighbourhood'', *2014: ''Integrated Architecture'' (English-Italian Translation of General Theory of Architecture), . Nuova Cultura

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Liangyong 1922 births Living people Chinese architects Chinese urban planners Educators from Nanjing Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing University alumni National Central University alumni Southeast University alumni Tsinghua University faculty Writers from Nanjing Chinese expatriates in the United States Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni Chinese centenarians Men centenarians