Atelier Li Xinggang

Between Idealism and Reality: “Vital Architecture,” developed by the Li Xinggang Studio, refers to an architectural approach that guides the studio’s research and practice, combining poetic sensibility, an awareness of context, and reflection on the contemporary conditions of living.

“Vital Architecture” builds upon the principles of traditional Chinese spatial design while simultaneously reinterpreting them through the lens of contemporary project work. It seeks to provide answers to the current challenges of living and to the conditions of human life in today’s world.

The ten projects presented in this exhibition illustrate five manifestations of Vital Architecture: inward-facing gardens in the heart of the city; the symbiosis between the new and the old in places shaped by memory and change; structures designed for environments lacking contextual reference points; residential complexes consisting of structural and spatial units; and, finally, architectures that blend into the relief and forms of the landscape.
Together with other works by the Li Xinggang Studio, these projects form a coherent whole that traces the contours of a true “Vital City.”

The exhibition unfolds in a multi-layered presentation that combines sketches and text fragments, models and drawings, photographs and videos, as well as installations and furniture. The wooden crates in which the models are displayed are made from reused packaging that was originally used to transport the exhibition.
This decision reflects the philosophy of the Li Xinggang Studio, whose artistic practice closely intertwines research, design, construction, and experience, as well as its aspiration to create a “Total Milieu”—an environment in which architecture, use, and perception form an inseparable whole.

Opening: October 13, 2026, 6:30 p.m.