Xiang Wang is a Chinese architect and lead partner at HOT DESIGN, a Shanghai-based studio known for merging parametric timber systems with cultural narrative. In 2024, Wang led the design of the Exhibition Center of CANNANO, a landmark nanotechnology hub in Guangzhou distinguished by its 39-meter diameter, 21-meter-high glulam timber dome—an expressive structure inspired by the branching form of a sequoia tree.
The CANNANO Exhibition Center exemplifies HOT DESIGN’s methodology: a column-free, spherical volume formed by a twisting lattice shell of laminated timber anchored to a steel “core-tube” base. The space accommodates exhibitions, conference facilities, and elevated viewing decks, all arranged within a unified geometric envelope that blurs engineering with storytelling.
Wang’s projects have been recognized by international platforms like Architecture Lab and ArchDaily and featured in global parametric design media. His approach combines technical invention, material sensitivity, and cultural specificity, establishing a distinct voice within the contemporary Chinese architectural landscape.
What inspires you?
My senior told me: Compared with most other jobs, architects are creating things that do not exist in the world, and this is what only God can do, so we are doing God’s work. This sentence gave me a great shock.
What inspired you to become an architect?
When I was young, I loved drawing, especially drawing scenes that required imagination from textbooks. When I was in high school and became a basketball shoe fanatic, I was deeply attracted to the innovatively designed sneakers from brands such as Nike and Adidas. At that time, I thought it was cool to be a designer, and I could design unique signature shoes for my basketball idol. When I was choosing a university, I came into contact with architecture. In 2011, China’s construction market was very hot. The teacher also cited the example of Mr. Ieoh Ming Pei to inspire me that such a master should be an idol for us Chinese. So I thought that it would be even greater to be able to leave my works on this earth and even in history. So this path might be worth a try. Therefore, I chose Tongji University, one of the best architecture universities in China, to study architecture.
How would you describe your design philosophy?
This question is very interesting, and it is also a point I have been exploring. Many famous architects have their unique design concepts, such as the most famous “less is more”, or “form follows function”, or even Zaha Hadid’s “parametricism”, etc. First of all for me, I may not be an absolute follower of a certain concept. I am more likely to adopt or balance some concepts and technologies according to the needs of a project. In some projects, functionality may be more dominant, and in some projects, customers may need more impactful innovative forms, some projects need to be very futuristic, and some projects need to incorporate some classical features. Therefore, it is difficult for me to use one concept to summarize all my work for the time being. However, in the process of my creation, I have always emphasized whether this design is “touching” enough. No matter what type of project it is, I hope to find a “touching” point in it, whether it is the visual shock at first glance, or the exquisite arrangement of the plane function, or the space contains a certain story expression, or some interactive design devices, etc., I hope that people can feel this unique “touching” when standing inside, and they can feel that this design was born for this project, and only here can they have such a special experience. This is the value of customers looking for this designer specifically.
What is your favorite project?
In fact, there are so many works I like, and it isn’t easy to choose. For example, the Shenzhen DJI Global Headquarters, designed by Foster + Partners, a super high-rise building, can be designed like this. The suspended glass box is supported by two sets of core tubes, almost realizing the concept of resisting the Earth’s gravity. It also echoes the characteristics of DJI’s drone products and highlights its ambition to develop upward. It is really clever, I often wonder if I can design a more clever and outstanding work if this project is given to me? The answer may be really difficult.
What is your favorite architectural detail?
For this question, we have to cite the flagship stores designed by Foster + Partners for Apple. I have visited the Apple flagship stores in Hangzhou and Shanghai. The entire building and interior are like a sophisticated iPhone, with truly mechanical aesthetic design details. For example, the floor stone and skirting are washed and installed from the same piece of stone, and the joints of the floor tiles are completely consistent with the joints of the column metal plates, and even with the joints of the ceiling, which is amazing. Such a building is really like a machine with exquisite craftsmanship.
Do you have a favorite material?
Wood is one of my favorite materials. It is also one of the most important building materials in the history of Eastern countries. First of all, wood can present different colors, textures, and smells due to different tree species. Every time I visit a wooden building, I like to touch and smell the special smell of wood. I like the gentle feeling brought by wood, which makes me feel very friendly and relaxed. Wood can be a good decorative material, such as wooden floors, wooden veneer,s and even wooden furniture. At the same time, more importantly, wood can also be an important structural basis for buildings. It can promote the interesting intellectual game of “construction” design. People can feel that, compared with contemporary reinforced concrete buildings, wooden buildings really have a completely different sense of construction art. In fact, I have also designed many wooden buildings and bridges, but unfortunately, many projects were not completed in the end due to various reasons. However, the Exhibition Center of the CANNANO project we designed recently combines wooden structures with the spatial concept story we want to express,s and has been completed well, which can be regarded as a wish fulfilled.
What is your process for starting a new project?
First of all, we go to the design site and do a detailed survey. We find many factors that may affect the design in the future. Some of them seem insignificant, but they will have a huge impact on the future construction process. Secondly, we maintain in-depth communication with customers. This is very important and is also to avoid constant modification and adjustment of the plan. It is difficult for many customers to accurately describe what they want. Maybe they can only know what they don’t want when they see the design results, but this will bring a lot of work modification costs. We have always avoided such unfavorable results. Secondly, design creation, we will constantly brainstorm, list the design directions of different ideas, and repeatedly evaluate and optimize. I believe that most architects may be in this mode. For the creativity we are very confident in, we generally give a plan and report to the customer. The method of the report is also very important. I like the press conferences of technology product companies such as Apple. They are an inductive speech, which will make customers feel that this product is too powerful and I really need it. Then it will be successful.
How do you fuel your creativity?
I think there may be two aspects:
One is to keep paying attention to and experiencing new excellent architectural projects. I had a personal habit when I was in college, I would browse the publicity media of architectural projects on time every day, and I would collect the pictures and materials when I encountered a project I liked. This habit has been maintained even when I was working. Although architectural masters such as Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry said that they would not pay attention to other architects’ projects at all, just do their own work. But I personally feel that before my own design language system has achieved a certain achievement, I can only keep myself up to date by watching more excellent projects. After all, it is difficult for us to generate ideas that we have never seen before, just like we can’t imagine a color that we have never seen before.
The second is to maintain self-training and thinking. Everyone converts feelings and desires into different results of design. I need to keep training myself. Is this the final result? Are there more clever concepts? Are there other ideas and techniques? Staying innovative is a very painful process; only by constantly “squeezing” your talents can you keep making progress.
What inspired the Exhibition Center of CANNANO?
The concept of the Exhibition Center of CANNANO was influenced by several aspects. Firstly, when we took over the design, the client wanted a hemispherical glass building on the site, so he hoped that we could give an answer based on this idea. Secondly, the client hoped that this design work would be unique worldwide and could compare the corporate image with famous companies such as Apple and Amazon. The above two points were combined as the basis for our creation.
There are many spherical buildings in the world, but most of them are similar in technique, all of which are steel structures + rectangular unit glass curtain wall. Apple’s flagship store in Singapore and Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle are also spherical buildings, but they both break away from conventional design thinking to get distinctive results. Therefore, we are wondering whether we can use wood structure as the support system, but we don’t want the space to be completely composed of a spherical wood structure grid shell covered with a layer of glass curtain wall, which is very lacking in creativity. We hope that the wood structure will be like a big tree, rising from the ground, growing to the top, spreading branches and leaves, and finally falling back to the ground. Such a dynamic result. The glass curtain wall is a combination of a complete hemispherical geometry and a tree-like wood structure. The two have both combined areas and areas where their stories are developed independently. Such an architectural space will be full of dynamic vitality rather than a rigid combination. Our client is a leading enterprise in the nano industry. We hope that such a spherical exhibition center will be like a world at the nanoscale. When you walk in, you will find that there is a greater macroscopic world in this microscopic world, which will make the exhibition experience more “touching”.
How did materiality shape the Exhibition Center of CANNANO?
In the Exhibition Center of the CANNANO project, glass curtain wall and glulam are two relatively important materials. First, we use ultra‑white tempered laminated glass, just like the glass pyramid of the Louvre in Paris, we hope that the glass of the building can be clearer and more transparent, so that people can feel the wonderful world inside the building through the sphere when standing in the square; secondly, the grid shell structure constructed by glulam is the biggest highlight of this project, which also echoes my answer in the previous question, that is, compared with reinforced concrete, wood structure has a completely different sense of construction art. The dome of the Pantheon in Rome is also a grid‑like style. Due to the use of concrete, the building gives us a feeling of being closed, heavy, and solemn; while the wood structure grid shell in this project gives us a feeling of being open, light, rhythmic and lively. Because the basic surface of the wood structure grid shell is accompanied by three‑dimensional twisting, the wood structure grid presents an illusion of time and space being distorted. This feeling is very special and fits everyone’s abstract feeling of time and space travel. Therefore, our customers, as scientific and technological workers, particularly like this concept and atmosphere.
Where do you see the future of global architecture heading?
With the advancement of Internet communication technology and the close cooperation of the global economy, I think the future development trend of architecture is similar to the current catering industry: functional‑oriented buildings will become more and more similar, such as industrial buildings, transportation buildings, high‑rise or super‑high‑rise office buildings, etc. Buildings will have a more complete supply chain system, construction standards and specifications, combined with AI technology, further strengthening assembly and intelligence in the entire life cycle process of construction, use, and management, and truly realizing the theory that “buildings are machines for living”. This is similar to fast food such as McDonald’s, which has a global supply chain and management system, and has standardized source materials, intelligent equipment and technical specifications in the process from breeding to processing to finished product sales, so that high-quality products can be quickly delivered to customers anywhere in the world; and buildings oriented to cultural attributes such as special cuisines in different countries and regions will pay more attention to local culture to give buildings a differentiated soul, and at the same time, with the help of developed building industrialization systems and intelligent systems, as well as the mutual reference and integration of different cuisines, so that the building itself is more innovative, and the development of architecture will also evolve and upgrade in a spiral manner. The above requirements for architects are becoming increasingly high. Architects also need to closely follow the evolution of the times, like programmers, to upgrade their cognition and technology. Interdisciplinary fields, especially the involvement of AI systems, are also common. If architects can be liberated from the tedious 3D modeling operations and in‑depth expression of drawings with the help of AI, leaving more time for thinking, then with further innovation and breakthroughs in productivity in the future, we may witness more great works that transcend the times.
