An exhibition has opened at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin featuring models of the work of Chinese architecture firm Neri&Hu.

Neri&Hu: Reflective Nostalgia showcases models and photographs of buildings completed since architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu founded the Shanghai-based studio in 2004.

The most eye-catching projects on show include The Relic Shelter teahouse in Fuzhou, The Waterhouse at South Bund hotel in Shanghai and the Aranya Art Center in Qinhuangdao.

Other featured projects include House of Remembrance in Singapore and the Nantou City Guesthouse in Shenzhen.

The title, Reflective Nostalgia, aims to highlight a theme that has underpinned Neri and Hu's practice.

At a time when Asian cities are developing at a rapid pace, the architects hope to produce buildings and spaces that look to the past as well as the future.

"What you see today is a reflection of 18 years of work," said Neri at the exhibition launch event.

"It represents our obsessions in response to the conditions of the city we live in – issues of dwelling, public and private, interiority, recasting what we conceive as vernacular, nostalgia or a lack of it, and how we deal with history and objects."

Neri said that Reflective Nostalgia – as coined by theorist Svetlana Boym – offers an opportunity to design within the context of different places and time zones, rather than following "a straight line".

"We humbly propose a condition of uncertainty, perhaps a point of experimentation, humility, a sense of primitive detailing," he said.

The models are displayed on a huge table made out of wooden pallets. The exhibition also includes a film that shows Neri&Hu's buildings in use.

Neri&Hu: Reflective Nostalgia runs from 14 October to 30 November 2022 at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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