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In this episode of Talking Practice host Grace La interviews Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, partners and co-founders of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, and the John C. Portman Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Lyndon and Rossana reflect on the beginnings of their personal and professional partnership, and the deep significance of founding their practice in Shanghai. Discussing the risks and rewards involved in starting a practice in a foreign city, Lyndon and Rossana provide insights into their working dynamic and the ways in which they leverage China as a laboratory for product design and architectural production. Presenting an inside glimpse into the logistics of their office, they stress the importance of moving beyond an “idealized practice” by experimenting with different business models. As practitioners working across multiple scales, cities, and industries, they articulate their attempts to balance tactility and diagrammatic thinking while leveraging the unique cultural contexts of their practice.
Lyndon and Rossana also describe the ways in which their practice serves as a catalyst for the revitalization of China’s depopulated rural villages, and how their work with adaptive reuse projects lies at the core of their relationship with developers. For more on Lyndon and Rossana’s work in adaptive reuse, check out their fall 2019 option studio.
Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu are partners and co-founders of the Shanghai-based Neri&Hu
Design and Research Office, and the John C. Portman Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Lyndon and Rossana are known internationally for their work in adaptive reuse projects, including the Waterhouse at South Bund, the Aranya Art Center, and the Tsingpu Yangzhou
Retreat. Working across disciplines in industrial and product design, they are also the creative directors of the furniture brand Stellar Works and founders of Design Republic, a retail brand
and online platform that showcases the work of internationally renowned designers. Lyndon and Rossana are the recipients of the Elle Décor International Design Awards, and have been inducted in the U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame. They are currently teaching a studio at the GSD entitled “Reflective Nostalgia: Alternative Futures for Shanghai’s Shikumen Heritage.”