The spring 2022 Current Work series focuses on architectural practices designing museums, schools, and cultural centers that contend with the complex legacies of place. DnA_Design and Architecture is an interdisciplinary practice founded in Beijing, China, in 2004. Its founding principal, Xu Tiantian, practices what she calls “architectural acupuncture”: a subtle, localized approach to the revitalization of rural China’s built environment. In collaboration with village communities and provincial governments, DnA has built over 20 public structures in China’s mountainous Songyang County and other rural regions. Using natural materials and local craft, its work celebrates each site’s cultural heritage while opening new social and economic futures in the places where it works. 

Recent projects include the Hakka Indenture Museum, Huiming Tea Space, and Jinyun Quarries. The lecture will be followed by a conversation and Q&A with Calvin Tsao. A founding principal of Tsao & McKown, Tsao serves on the boards of the American Academy in Rome and The Architectural League of New York.