Hangzhou , China ( CNN ) -- Now in modern China all the constructions have become modern , everywhere is concrete and concrete in China means cheap . But my way is thinking about how I can use the concrete and the traditional ways so that they can coexist . It is very difficult now in China because there have been so many changes , the construction system has changed , it is almost all like the Western system now and the materials used have changed . So now , we talk about how to design a new Chinese architecture , but it is very difficult because tradition has stopped , philosophy has stopped and the Chinese value system has stopped -- everything is different . For example , if you look at Chinese traditional buildings , you will find they are not just about the solid structure . They have many outside spaces inside the buildings as people want to live with fresh air , trees , flowers and water together . We use the courtyard house in many different places : In homes , shops , factories , office buildings , schools , jails , everything . Going into Chinese buildings you can directly feel the difference between outside and inside . When you sit outside , you are in a very closed world ; you wear a suit . When you go inside , everything is very delicate and there are very small things -- you can feel everything is warmer and more peaceful . The wooden structure is like your inner clothes so it is very clear -- outside and inside . In traditional Chinese architecture they use wood and not very good wood -- simple , cheap wood . Maybe the building will just stay up for 50 years and then it will collapse . It 's not permanent . It is very similar to process of nature . I like this very much . Some buildings , they rebuild and recycle , again and again and again . And finally you will find maybe just 10 % of the elements come from 1,500 years ago and the other elements are new . It repeats , repeats , rebuilds , rebuilds , again and again and again . It is as though the building is alive . In Hangzhou we have a traditional pagoda . When I go in this pagoda , suddenly I understand some things . For example , it is huge , but if you see it from a distant place , on some special day when the sun is at different angles , you will find that this pagoda just disappears -- it totally blends into the mountains so you ca n't see it . It is then that I suddenly understand how I can design big modern buildings using the traditional ways , how buildings can disappear in the landscape . More from Human to Hero : La Scala soprano : Opera singers are athletes . In China the most important thing is nature . It is not human beings , it is not architecture -- it is nature . So that is why I like Chinese traditional architecture . It means a philosophy and a value system . It is about how people can live together with nature . China has a long history of 5,000 years , so for a long time people have understood the meaning of the truth of life . For example , you go into the cities , you earn a big money , you become a powerful government official -- but that is not the most important thing for Chinese people . The most important thing for the Chinese is ... being beautiful about life , living in some peaceful place with trees , water and your family together . If you are an artist you only have to keep your passion alive for maybe three days or one month . But for the architect , your assistant , your client , the craftsmen and the construction company -- everybody is connected to your project . You have to keep the passion alive for five years , right to the very end . You become like a leader and everyone should be able to feel your spirit and passion . More from Human to Hero : Top designer shares secret of staying in vogue . When I design new buildings in a new place , I go there not just to see the site . I go to all the countryside around and see more than 10 or 20 villages . I take many photos , shoot movies and do some drawings . I read books about the area ... then gradually something emerges . If you really want to understand traditional Chinese architecture you should really know the craftsman 's work because in China for a long time we did not have architecture theory or history , we did not have architects -- we only had craftsmen so the secret was just in the craftsman 's hands . Throughout the 1990s , I did n't have any formal jobs . I just worked with craftsmen together for 10 years . I wanted to forget everything I had learned in the architecture school . The biggest problem for China now is not about the economy -- it is about the fact that people have lost confidence in their culture . Winning the Pritzker Prize has given people more confidence to like my work . Architecture has become too abstract ... ( architects ) are floating in the air and are not rooted in the ground . I do something that is directly rooted in the ground . I think it is more important . I learned many things from the traditional way but every single one of my works is in the city so I think the next step I will go back ... and do something in the countryside .
In 2012 Wang Shu became the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize . The 48-year-old 's practice is based in Hangzhou , the capital of Zhejiang Province . Pritzker Prize is an annual $ 100,000 award that honors a living architect . Wang spent 10 years working with Chinese craftsmen to perfect his art .