Since establishing their Shanghai practice Neri&Hu in 2004, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu have become a global names in contemporary architecture, drawing international recognition for their tactile minimalism of its cultural projects across China.

The Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts museum was envisaged as a source of illumination for the city of Xi’an, in China, accommodating the museum’s expanded cultural and commercial programs. Floating a red stone lantern above its entrance as a symbol of Xi’an’s social histories, Neri&Hu aimed to create an architecture that stands as a continuation of its cultural lineage.

From intimate spaces of inhabitation, to entire neighbourhood master plans, the pair has created an architecture that aspires to enduring poeticism through connection to its context. Drawing on multiple disciplines, their process crafts delicate balances—between space and mass, light and shadow, reverence to what came before and a global frame of reference to design dynamic, contemporary forms.