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CEO Of Nikken Sekkei Shanghai Zhongxiao Lu’s sense of adventure triggered a love for architecture which led him to japan to learn how urban living is evolving.

- Wendy Kay

Zhongxiao Lu admits he was a very naughty kid. But it also could be argued it was his free spirit and sense of mischief that triggered his lifelong passion for architecture. As a schoolboy, the CEO of Nikken Sekkei Shanghai would scramble around the architectural splendour of back alleys, or lilongs, of the Shanghai neighbourhood surrounding him. It was a treasure trove of East meets West, where modern Western townhouses combined with the rich legacy of Chinese folk housing.

“I was constantly exploring those alleys, climbing up and down them,” he remembers. “I believe it was the use of this space, high and low storeys, and the blend of old style and new, which planted the seed in my head to pursue a career in architecture.”

Becoming an architect was not the only dream he harboured growing up. Zhongxiao’s wild imagination also saw him as a knight in shining armour, a kind of modernday Robin Hood helping the poor to share in the wealth of the rich. Zhongxiao never acted out his fantasy, however, nor does he rob from the wealthy to help the poor in his role as head of Nikken Sekkei in Shanghai. But he certainly plays a hand in improving lives, using his unique design approach to create a lifestyle where the environment merges nature with urban life, and architecture forges a bridge between the past and the future.

His projects have won multiple awards, most notably the Bank of China Shanghai Building (2000), The Shanghai Citigroup Tower (2005) and Shanghai Greenland Center (2017), a remarkable achievement considering he was the first new graduate of a foreign nationality to join Nikken Sekkei, the oldest and largest design firm in Japan.