A building at Dongjiao Jiyi, or Eastern Suburb Memory, a significant cultural and historical landmark designed by Liu Jiakun, in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province Photo: VCG

While many architects expand career horizons globally, Chinese architect Liu Jiakun, who is also the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, was engrossed in designing a mixed-use courtyard complex in his hometown of Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Featuring teahouse and hotpot restaurants, the project, named the "West Village," typifies how architecture preserves regional culture through sustaining local people's daily lives. 

Liu's design commitment to regional humanity may appear focused in scope, but it is a decisive factor that distinguishes the 69-year-old Chengdu native from numerous masters who have won the top architectural prize. He is now not only an individual icon but also an epitome of the collective passion that Chinese architects hold for authentic local nature, history and culture - a passion that has also been shared by Wang Shu, China's first Pritzker laureate prior to Liu.

Humble architecture 

Since 1999, Liu has been working in the Yulin area, one of Chengdu's most indigenous and vibrant neighborhoods. In his spare time, Liu often visited the grocery or slurped noodles at the small dinning place near his ­office. Such experiences gave Liu an understanding of what the local people truly need in terms of architecture. 

For example, inspired by Chengdu's "basin" geographical character, his West Village project is a five-story building encircled by elevated running tracks. The architecture, with its grey appearance, is so unadorned that it was once jokingly referred to by locals as a "lanwei lou" (literally: unfinished building). 

However, whether it's young couples, children riding bicycles, or elderly dancing groups, the building has become a gathering place for the surrounding residents. Now, it's a lifestyle landmark that attracts social media users who take pictures and post on platforms like Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. 

As a peer, Yang Nan, a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) chartered architect as well as partner of Parallect Design, told the Global Times that he still remembers the time he set foot in Liu's West Village. The gentle rise and fall of ramps, the courtyards tucked between concrete structures, the open pathways that invited passersby to linger, it all rebuilds the circumstance of daily interaction of local citizens. 

Liu's design tightens the connection between people in community. Noting the Pritzker winner is a "down-to-earth master" in the architectural world, peer architectural designer Li Bo, told the Global Times that Liu's passion for regional humanity is not limited to Chengdu, but can be understood as a "design method" that applies across various projects. 

The Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick is Liu's project in East China's Jiangsu Province. In order to preserve the local's imperial kiln heritage for gold bricks, the architect has given minimal intervention to the original ruins. The museum looks as humble as many of Liu's works, but when looking closer to its main structure, it reveals an aesthetic synthesis combining both kiln and palace architectural features. 

The Suzhou Museum of Imperial Kiln Brick in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, designed by Liu Jiakun Photo: VCG

"It's about problem-solving in architecture within a specific context, never forcing an imposed style, and this kind of flexibility shows a deep respect for both the environment and the people who will inhabit the space," Yang told the Global Times.

"Western architects often work in bold declarations, but Chinese architects are practicing their common sense and wisdom in a relatively silent way," Yang said.  

Shared approach 

Liu's design philosophy, which emphasizes respect for the local environment and people, is shared by many Chinese architects, including renowned figures like Wang Shu.

One of Wang's most iconic projects is the Ningbo Museum in East China's Zhejiang Province. For this design, he used recycled bricks, tiles and stones sourced from local areas, many of which were salvaged from traditional residences in Ningbo.

"China's rich and diverse regional cultures have provided designers with the foundation to forge our own paths," architect Li told the Global Times. 

He also noted that the works of both Wang and Liu "integrate effortlessly with their surroundings, appearing as though they have naturally grown from the land." 

In an interview with the Global Times, Wang expressed his ­reluctance to discuss architecture extensively, stating that while "architecture may seem distant from people's lives, houses are deeply connected to the daily experiences of ordinary people."

Unlike Wang Shu, who has dedicated his career solely to architecture, Liu Jiakun is both an architect and a novelist. He has published several literary works, including Bright Moonlight Plan in 1999. His talent and passion for literature have inspired him to explore architectural practices that utilize books as a means towards rural revitalization.

Scheduled to open in May 2025, a village bookstore designed by Liu in Qujing, Yunnan Province is set to open. Located in a rural area of Yunnan and spanning 800 square meters, the bookstore explores the potential of cultural spaces in rural settings. 

"We can view the project as the designer's exploration to rural ­revitalization," Li told the Global Times.