Dr. Xiangning Li is dean and full professor in history, theory, and criticism at Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is the editor-in-chief of Architecture China. He is a member of CICA (Comité International des Critiques d'Architecture), and has published widely on contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism in international architectural magazines including Architectural Review, A+U, Architectural Record, Arquitectura Viva, Space, Domus, and Volume. He has served as visiting scholar and professor at various institutions including MIT, MAK Center of Art and Architecture (Los Angeles), TU Darmstadt, Harvard GSD, etc. He has curated a number of exhibitions including the Pavilion of China at the 16th Venice International Architecture Biennale, “Toward a Critical Pragmatism: Practice of Contemporary Individual Architects in China” at Harvard GSD, 2017 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, 2013 Shenzhen/Hong Kong Bi-city Biennale, Shanghai Westbund 2013 Biennale, etc. He has been a jury member to many international awards and competitions including Spanish International Architectural Award, Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction, and Mies van der Rohe Award the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.

Urban Regeneration Through Art and Architecture: Shanghai as a Case

As the curator of Shanghai Westbund Biennale 2013 and several editions of Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, Professor Li Xiangning's curatorial practice has played a key role in the post-industrial transformation of Shanghai's Westbund area. The presentation will discuss the mechanism of the Biennale and the role of art and architecture in the process of urban regeneration based on a historical retrospective perspective.