URBANUS, Shenzhen, China
Visiting Critic Lecture
In 1999, Yan Meng co-founded URBANUS Architecture & Design Inc. with partners Liu Xiaodu and Wang Hui. URBANUS developed branches in Shenzhen and Beijing and has become one of the most influential architectural practices in China. URBANUS built works have become new landmarks of urban life; Many projects have received prestigious architecture awards, been exhibited and published worldwide.
As principal in charge of design, Meng has designed numerous projects over the years that have earned an international reputation for URBANUS, including Luohu Art Museum, Dafen Art Museum, Artron Art Center, Tulou Collective Housing, OCT Art & Design Gallery, OCT-LOFT Renovation, Maillen Hotel & Apartments, Nanshan Marriage Registration Center, Library of South University of Science and Technology, CGN Headquarter Tower and Zhongdian Complex. He is currently overseeing the completion of Shum Yip UpperHills Loft and B10 OCAT. Meng has also led many urban design and research projects, such as Hubei Village Preservation and Regeneration Research, Huaqiangbei Catic City Urban Design and Renovation, Baishizhou 5 Villages Research and Urban Design, Urban design and Research of Beijing Qianmen East Courtyard House Area. Yan Meng’s work has long focused on the key issues of Chinese development, including the social and cultural issues of rapid urbanization, high-density urban building typologies, urban villages, and urban regeneration research. He also serves as an expert consultant to the government in the field of urban development.
Meng is an architect licensed in New York State. He received his bachelor and master of architecture degrees from Tsinghua University, and master of architecture degree from Miami University. He has been a design critic at many universities and taught at the School of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. He has been an invited juror for numerous international design competitions and given lectures at many influential academic institutions in New York, Venice, Moscow, Rotterdam, Brussels and Singapore. Yan Meng was appointed chief curator of the Shenzhen Pavilion in 2010 Shanghai Expo, and is appointed to be one of the three curators for 2017 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Urbanism\ Architecture Bi-City Biennale (Shenzhen).
