Asia Society Southern California is delighted to co-host with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, a conversation with Shanghai-based visionary architect Benjamin Wood on his new autobiography, Into the Dragon's Mouth. 

An American architect who re-imagined both the heart of New York and the heart of Shanghai, Benjamin Wood is known for his unique approach to architectural design. His design of the Xintiandi area of Shanghai set the standard for urban renewal across all China's cities. In his memoir, Into the Dragon's Mouth, Wood tells his unique story as an architect from the American South in the 1950s through to the glittering city skylines of the 21st century, as well as his perspectives on China and the U.S.   

Use Asia Society discount code at registration: Aprilmember 

Speaker:

Benjamin T. Wood, AIA, received his Masters in Architecture from MIT in 1984 after a career as a jet fighter pilot and restaurateur. Within a few years, Wood was made Partner at Benjamin Thompson and Associates in Cambridge, MA and was in charge of the redevelopment of Spitalfields Market (3 million square feet) in London and Minato Mirai complex (3.5 million square feet) in Yokohama, Japan. Wood founded Thompson and Wood and then Wood and Zapata in Cambridge, MA in the 1990’s, authored master plans for Revitalization of New York’s Times Square (1993), Lincoln Road and the Art Deco District in Miami Beach (1992), Playhouse Square in Cleveland Ohio (1991), and developed growth management strategies for the Rocky Mountain resort towns of Snowmass, Aspen, and Telluride in Colorado and Park City in Utah.

His love for travel and architecture brought him to Shanghai, China where he set up Shanghai Studio, an architectural practice based in Shanghai – one of his favorite cities in the world.

Today, Wood is a Shanghai based architect who collaborates with the world’s most innovative leaders and thinkers to design environments that support life. The goal is simple – to create places, mostly outdoors, where people meet.

In Partnership with: