MELBOURNE.- One of China’s most renowned female architect’s, Xu Tiantian, whose work has transformed rural communities across China, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission, a major series inviting globally renowned designers to create groundbreaking new work for the NGV Collection.

Based in Beijing, Xu’s practice uses architecture to revitalise rural and regional Chinese provinces, helping to protect their economies, cultural heritage and social wellbeing. Coining the term ‘architectural acupuncture’, referencing traditional Chinese medicine, Xu uses precise, seamless interventions to transform underutilised infrastructure and buildings. Recent projects include transforming a series of abandoned stone quarries into multi-purpose arts venues, and building a theatre stage within a bamboo forest, to facilitate village opera performances and as a site for meditation.

Enticing visitors from across China and abroad, these projects fuse architecture with landscape creating distinctive destinations for music, art and performance. Her holistic design approach emphasises local participation and engagement, empowering communities by championing their practices and resources, and fostering a sense of continuity and care in China’s built environment. This approach, acknowledged by the United Nations as a model for strengthening urban-rural linkages, results in impactful projects that preserve heritage and revitalise local communities and their identities.

For the fifth MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission, Xu will present Bamboo Theatre, a full scale installation that draws on the landscape and material knowledge of Songyang County, a mountainous region of the Zhejiang Province where dense bamboo forest borders local villages and terraced tea plantations. Handcrafted from locally sourced bamboo, this new work captures the enduring use of bamboo in contemporary architecture and offers a space for gathering and contemplation.

The commission will invite reflection on how architecture fosters community and offers spaces for connection and dialogue. The installation celebrates the universal power of the circular floor plan as a symbol of protection, gathering and shared living, as seen in the architecture of many cultures worldwide. Within the installation will be a large-scale multimedia film, offering visitors an opportunity to experience the unique atmosphere Xu is celebrated for, reflecting the qualities of her increasingly iconic built projects.  

Of the Commission, Xu Tiantian, said: ‘It is a great honour to create this work for the National Gallery of Victoria and MECCA and an opportunity to bring a living material and a collective building tradition into a contemporary cultural setting. The Bamboo Theatre explores how architecture can remain light, adaptive, and rooted in place while shaping spaces for gathering, reflection, and dialogue.’

Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV, said: ‘We are thrilled to announce Xu Tiantian, a visionary architect who is leading the way globally in rural redevelopment and transformation, as the fifth recipient of the MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission. We are extremely grateful to MECCA for their support in this groundbreaking commission and helping Xu to realise this ambitious new work, which we look forward to sharing with our audiences.’

Xu Tiantian is an architect and the founding director of DnA_Design and Architecture, based in Beijing, China. Her practice has gained international recognition for its impactful cultural projects. Through contemporary architecture, Xu focuses on protecting and revitalising regional economies and cultural heritage in China. Her design approach emphasises local participation and engagement, empowering communities and fostering a sense of continuity and care in China’s built environment.

Xu has received numerous accolades, including the Swiss Architectural Award (2022), the Berlin Art Prize (2023), the Marcus Prize for Architecture (2023), the Holcim Gold Award for Asia-Pacific (2023), and the UNESCO Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. In 2025, she received the Wolf Prize in Architecture. Xu was also named an International Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2020 and elected a member of the German Academy of Arts (Akademie der Künste) in 2024.