Syracuse Architecture Faculty Curates Landmark Eisenman Exhibition in China

Posters Outdoors (Photography by Fei Wang)

The exhibition is the result of a cross-border collaboration among the China Design Museum at the China Academy of Art, the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), and Syracuse University’s School of Architecture, offering a multidimensional exploration of Eisenman’s intellectual legacy.

Curated by Fei Wang, associate teaching professor at Syracuse University’s School of Architecture, Decoding Eisenman brings together nearly 150 works—including sketches, research models, personal correspondence, publications, and video interviews from the Peter Eisenman Archive at the CCA—to construct a “living archive of architectural thought.” Through these works, Wang invites audiences to trace Eisenman’s evolving ideas on form, theory, and architectural meaning across more than five decades of practice.

Exhibition Space Axonometric Drawing (Drawn by Incity Architecture Studio)Organized into three layered sections, the exhibition traces the arc of Eisenman’s revolutionary career—from the conceptual syntax of his early “cardboard architecture,” through radical experiments in deconstruction and reassembly, to interdisciplinary and digital research, and finally to his later engagements with cultural memory and local context. Throughout, Eisenman’s work is presented not as a linear progression but as a series of epistemic leaps that continually challenge and redefine architecture itself.

“Peter Eisenman stands as one of architecture’s most pivotal and distinctive figures—a theorist, educator and practitioner of profound global impact,” says Fei Wang. “After years of development, it has been a great privilege to curate this exhibition.”

Installation View. "Ensemble III: Topological Rhapsody – A Spatial Operating System for Transdisciplinary Cognition" (Photography by ArchiDogs)Decoding Eisenman not only celebrates Eisenman’s transformative impact on architecture but also reinforces Syracuse University’s role as a leader in architectural education and cross-cultural collaboration. Alongside Fei Wang’s role as chief curator, Nan Wang, visiting critic at Syracuse Architecture, led the graphic identity and exhibition design, while Syracuse Architecture Dean Michael Speaks delivered a keynote address during the opening symposium.

“This project represented a rare and intellectually rewarding experience for me,” says Nan Wang. “I had the opportunity to engage critically with the theory of Peter Eisenman through the exhibition’s graphic design and wall visual arrangement and found boundless inspiration during the exhibition design process.”

Installation View. "Ensemble II: Historical Translation - Deconstructive Games and Memory Archaeology" (Photography by ArchiDogs)A talented team of Syracuse faculty, students, and alumni also played vital roles in exhibition production—from filming and editing to documentation and media coordination. Special thanks go to: Professor Jean-François Bédard, Zeyu Yao ’25, Tony Dai ’25, Jiaqi Wang ’26, Zizhuo Mao ’25, Enming Cao ’27, Shuoxuan Li ’27, Stephanie Feng ’27, Tianhai Zhang ’26, Yulin Chen ’28, Shihan Zhang ’28, Yichong Ma ’27, Runkai Huang ’29, and Qiyuan Gong ’27.

“I want to congratulate Professor Fei Wang on this historical achievement,” says Dean Michael Speaks. “This is the only major exhibition of Peter Eisenman’s work in China, and it will have a significant impact on Asia’s future architects and scholars.”

Decoding Eisenman: Beyond Form is on view at the China Design Museum in Hangzhou, China through December 2025. For more information about the exhibition and related programming, visit the official exhibition announcement.

Exhibition Details

Decoding Eisenman: Beyond Form
September 27 – December 30, 2025

China Design Museum, China Academy of Art
352 Xiangshan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, China

• Curators: Fei Wang, Jia Hu
• Academic Advisors: Cynthia Davidson, Yung Ho Chang
• Space Design: Ting Zhang, Wenda Xiao
• Graphic Design: Nan Wang