The term and the aesthetic sensibility of the picturesque have been used for some time in the fine arts and architecture. Supported by Tongji University, this research project seeks to determine their origins as a term as well as the earliest artistic manifestations embodying this sensibility across cultures and disciplines. Experts from across the globe will be asked to join this project to contribute to a more accurate understanding of both the idea and the sensibility's legacy. In Fall 2024, the project held two colloquia and one conference centered around the origins of the picturesque in various cultures. In 2025 further conferences will be held, one in the Werner Oechslin Library in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, the others at Tongji University. A publication with the results of the research is planned for 2026/2027.
The term "picturesque" is in wide and often loose use in many fields of artistic production, most notably in architecture. Critics of irregular forms apply the term in a pejorative way, yet the general movement towards a less formal appearance of not only architectural designs but of all of life's expressions on an international scale gives the "picturesque" a hitherto unknown significance. The picturesque is not only an aesthetic sensibility, in the context of dominant global ordering systems, of technological rationalism and limited personal space, the picturesque expresses a longing for the unconstrained other, for the innate energy of the natural.
Wilfried Wang
Professor, Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning
B.Sc. (First Class Honours, 1978) and M.Sc. (Distinction, 1981) in Architecture from Bartlett School, University College London; Research Fellow, Polytechnic of North London (1981-1984); Partner in SW Architects, London (1989-1995), co-founder of Hoidn Wang Partner, Berlin (since 2001), www.hoidnwang.de.
Taught at the North London Polytechnic (1981-1984); Bartlett School, University College London (1984-1986); Graduate School of Design, Harvard University (1986-2001); ETH Zurich (1994); The University of Texas at Austin (2001-2022); and the School of Architecture, University of Navarra.
Co-Editor of 9H Mgazine, London (1979-1986); Co-Director of the 9H Gallery, London (1985-1990); Director of the German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt (1995-2000); Architecture Advisor Deutschen Bank (1990-2000); member of the advisory board on art for architecture for the Federal Government of Germany; Chair of the Design Review Board City of Wismar (2000-2010); Chairman of the Schelling Architecture Foundation (2003-2021); member of the Design Review Board of Munich Airport (2007-2014); member of the Design Review Board of Ingolstadt (since 2018); member of the Conservation Advisory Board for Berlin Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (since 2018); member of the editorial advisory board of Perspectives in Architecture and Urban Design
Member of the Berlin Chamber of Architects; foreign member of Royal Swedish Academy of Arts; member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin; honorary member of the Ordem dos Arquitectos, Portugal; President of the International Committee of Architectural Critics CICA.
Lecturer at international schools of architecture and architectural museum; curator of architectural exhibitions; author of essays on contemporary architecture; author and editor of monographs and topographs; jury member of architectural competitions and awards.
Recipient of Students’ Outstanding Teachers Award from the architecture students at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University (1991), honorary doctorate from the Royal Technical College, Stockholm (2010); CICA Award for exhibition catalogues (2014, 2017).
Research Team
Scientific Committee
Tongji Steering Group
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