Since constructing his own studio in 1999, the dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has designed or realized together with other architects a wide range of architectural projects.

Architecture has become a discipline within the artist’s creative work by means of which, over and above the visual arts, he is able to develop a physical and lasting effect on society.

This exhibition catalogue explores this aspect of Ai Weiwei’s work. It elucidates the architectural projects and examines the role of architecture in relation to Ai Weiwei’s political activities.

Featuring some new works and many of the artist’s most important urban projects, including the famous ‘bird’s nest’ olympic stadium in Beijing which he co-created with architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Art / Architecture at Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, July – October 2011.

English and German text.