[1] Despite the anti-intellectual fervor of the "cultural revolution" (1966–76), his mother gave him access to the library and he read widely, from "Pushkin to Lu Xun.

[1] Although Wang lived in Ürümqi and Beijing in his early life, after college he moved to Hangzhou for the city's natural landscapes and ancient tradition of art.

[2] They chose the name as a rebuke of the "professional, soulless architecture" practiced in China, which they believe has contributed to the large-scale demolition of many old urban neighborhoods.

[1] In 2000, Wang designed the Library of Wenzheng College at Soochow University, which won the inaugural Architecture Art Award of China in 2004.

[2] The jury, which included Pritzker laureate Zaha Hadid and the US Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer, highlighted Wang's "unique ability to evoke the past, without making direct references to history" and called his work "timeless, deeply rooted in its context and yet universal.

"[2][9] The chairman of the Hyatt Foundation said Wang's win represented "a significant step in acknowledging the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals" going forward.

"[15] Alejandro Aravena, a member of the Pritzker Prize jury, stated "Wang Shu’s outstanding architecture may be the consequence of being able to combine talent and intelligence.

[1] Wang is married to Lu Wenyu, who is also his business partner and fellow professor of architecture at the China Academy of Art.

[14] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Wang expressed his sentiment that his wife deserved to share the Pritzker Prize with him.