Li Hu and Huang Wenjing of OPEN appointed Friedman Visiting Professors
The Department of Architecture is excited to welcome Li Hu, Hon. FAIA, and Huang Wenjing, AIA, as Friedman Visiting Professors for spring 2026. They are co-founders of the award-winning practice OPEN Architecture, known for inventive, sculptural buildings that emphasize a connection with the natural world. At UC Berkeley this spring, they will teach a graduate-level studio and present a lecture about their work as part of the Department of Architecture lecture series.
Huang and Li co-founded OPEN in New York City in 2006 and established a Beijing office two years later. Recent works include the UCCA Dune Art Museum, carved into the sand on a beach in Northern China; the Chapel of Sound, a rough-hewn semi-outdoor concert hall that seemingly grows from a valley floor; and Sun Tower, a sliced–open “lighthouse” for cultural events whose geometries are sculpted by the movement of the sun.
OPEN writes of these projects, “While each of these buildings responds to its specific context, they share common principles: reverence for nature, resilience in harsh environments, and alignment with celestial cycles. They all work to capture the invisible energy, or chi, and provide visceral experiences that help people rediscover their innate senses and restore a sense of belonging in a world increasingly fragmented by technology.”
OPEN has been widely recognized, receiving the AIA International Design Awards Honor Award (US), Arcasia Awards Gold Award, Design for Asia Awards, LEAF Awards (EU), and AR Future Project Awards, among many others. Its work has been exhibited around the world, at venues, such as the Chicago Architecture Biennale, Venice Biennale, and London Design Museum, and collected by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and M+ Museum in Hong Kong.
Li is a former partner of Steven Holl Architects and director of Columbia University GSAPP’s Studio-X Beijing; he received his BArch from Tsinghua University in Beijing and his MArch from Rice University. Huang received her BArch from Tsinghua University and her MArch from Princeton University. She is a licensed architect in New York State and a member of the AIA. They served as Kenzo Tange Design Critics in Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2023.
The Howard A. Friedman Visiting Professorship in the Practice of Architecture honors alum as well as former chair and faculty member Howard A. Friedman, FAIA (1919–1988). It is intended to advance Friedman’s values and philosophy of humanistic architecture and enhance connections between the college and the profession.