Urbanus Architecture & Design

In 1999, LIU Xiaodu co-founded URBANUS with partners MENG Yan and WANG Hui. LIU Xiaodu established the structure of the firm and oversees the operation of the company. Architecture design projects co-led by LIU Xiaodu include Tulou Collective Housing, Hui Hotel, the OCT Art & Design Gallery, Bcn Re. Set-Identity Pavilion, OCT-LOFT Renovation, Greater China IFC, Jiading Worker’s Union Building, and Wanxia Complex; Urban design projects include Beijing Preservation & Regeneration of Qianmen East Hutong Area, Huaqiangbei 3Dstreet Urban Design and VANKE Liuxiandong Urban Design, etc. Committing to explore the path of the future development of high-density cities, he led the research and design project, “Hyper Metropolis”, in 2015 to investigate the lifestyle of super metropolitan in Pearl River Delta 2.0 era. As the curator of China Pavilion for London Design Biennale 2016, he further extended and deepened the urban research on high-density by proposing the work, “DenCity”.

LIU Xiaodu has received his Bachelor degree of Architecture from Tsinghua University and Master’s degree of Architecture from Miami University, Ohio. He is often invited to be one of the jury members for a number of international competitions and to give lectures at many influential academic institutions worldwide. He held the post of visiting professor at the School of Architecture at University of Hong Kong, the University of Venice, Tsinghua University and Hunan University. LIU Xiaodu currently serves as the chairman for the first Shenzhen City of Design Promotion Association. He is appointed to be one of the chief curators for 2017 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Urbanism\ Architecture Bi-City Biennale (Shenzhen).

In 1999, MENG Yan co-founded URBANUS with partners LIU Xiaodu and WANG Hui. He has focused on architectural design and urban research in the context of contemporary Chinese cities for twenty years. As Principal in charge of Design of URBANUS, MENG Yan has led numerous design projects over the years. These projects have won an international reputation for URBANUS, including Luohu Art Gallery, Dafen Art Museum, the OCT Art & Design Gallery, OCT-LOFT Renovation, Tulou Collective Housing, Maillen Hotel & Apartment, Nanshan Marriage Registration Center, Artron Art Center, CGN Headquarters Building, Zhongdian Complex, the Southern University of Science and Technology Library and Gymnasium, SHUM YIP UpperHills LOFT、the Renovation of Meng Sheng Residence, etc; and upcoming projects Yuehai Community Culture and Sports Center, China Merchants Historical Museum, Kingway Brewery Renovation, and Nantou Hybrid Building. His works have been exhibited in international architectural exhibitions in New York, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Tokyo, and other places and have been published in academic journals.

MENG Yan’s work has long focused on the key issues of China’s urban development, including social and cultural issues of rapid urbanization, high-density urban building typologies, Urban Village regeneration, and preservation of the historical area. He has led many urban design and research projects, such as a series of studies on Shenzhen’s Urban Villages, including Hubei Old Village and Baishizhou 5 Villages Urban Regeneration Research, Nantou Old Town Preservation, and Regeneration, Huaqiangbei Catic City Urban Design, as well as Preservation & Regeneration of Historic Qianmen East Hutong Area in Beijing, etc.

MENG Yan is an architect licensed in New York State. He received his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Architecture from Tsinghua University, and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Miami University. MENG Yan was a visiting professor at the School of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong and Syracuse University. He has been invited as a jury member for numerous international design competitions and to lecture at many international academic institutions. MENG Yan is one of the chief curators for the 2017 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\ Architecture (Shenzhen) and the chief curator of the Shenzhen Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

In 1999, WANG Hui co-founded URBANUS with partners LIU Xiaodu and MENG Yan. After a co-management of the early work of URBANUS in Shenzhen, WANG Hui has been overseen the operation of Beijing Office since 2003, and takes part in urban and architecture design of the Beijing, Tianjin, Tangshan triangle area, the Yangtze River Delta region and many other cities. Recently, he led the project of The Design of the Five Dragons Temple Environmental Improvement, causing a heated discussion of the protection and regeneration of cultural relic. As Principal in Charge of Design, WANG Hui has designed White Cloud Temple Jewelry Garden, Tangshan Urban Planning Museum and Park, Tangshan Museum Expansion, Drum Tower Area Renewal, CLOUD TOP Building, Tianjin Yujiapu Financial Center, Maritime Art Museum, Shanghai Multimedia Valley and High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, etc. In addition to his early projects, Shenzhen Planning Building and Shenzhen Metro Headquarters Tower, his recent projects in the southern cities include Cultural Center of Pingshan District, etc. WANG Hui is also involved in a number of urban researches, including Preservation & Regeneration of Qianmen East Hutong Area, Beijing Future S & T Park Central Area Urban Design, Beijing CBD New Core Urban Design and Building Design and Beijing New Ecological Community of Pear Village, etc.

WANG Hui is an architect licensed in New York State. He received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees of Architecture from Tsinghua University, and Master’s degree of Architecture from Miami University. He is a member of a council of the Architectural Society of China, and a member of a council of Architects’ Branch at the Architectural Society of China. He is also an instructor for design at the Architecture School at Tsinghua University and a visiting professor at the ADA Research Center at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. WANG Hui served as one of the members at the editorial board for The Journal of Architecture and other major academic journals. In addition to acting as a jury member and reference for numerous domestic and international major competitions, WANG Hui is frequently invited to give lectures at many internationally recognized universities and architectural associations in the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Slovenia.