( CNN ) -- An architect who uses recycled building materials from historic buildings torn down to make way for China 's megacities has won architecture 's most prestigious international award , the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize . Wang Shu , 48 , whose Hangzhou-based firm Amateur Architecture Studio has just four permanent staff , was widely regarded as a long shot to win the $ 100,000 prize that has previously been awarded to celebrity architects such as Norman Foster and Frank Gehry . `` The fact that an architect from China has been selected by the jury to win the prize , represents a significant step in acknowledging the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals , '' said Thomas J. Pritzker , chairman of the Hyatt Foundation which sponsors the prize . Unlike many of his contemporaries who studied overseas in the United States and Europe , Wang trained in China . He took the unusual step of taking on almost no commissions during the 1990s , instead learning about building materials by working closely with the kind of craftsmen normally shunned by office-bound architects . `` For myself , being an artisan or a craftsman , is being an amateur or almost the same thing , '' Wang said in a press release , using the word in its true meaning as one who does something for love rather than money . One of his most celebrated buildings , the Ningbo Historic Museum , used recycled materials collected from the nearby area to construct a modern building that paid homage to the past . `` My belief is that architecture should work hand in hand with time , '' said Wang . `` Sometimes I prefer to use less costly materials that can be replaced when damaged . Temporary , as I use the word , is not meant to mean disposable . '' He says the design process is similar to that of the traditional Chinese painter . He first studies the environment , looking at its orientation and geography . He then thinks about these things for a week without doing any designs . Then -- as was the case with the Ningbo Historic Museum -- the design begins to take shape in his mind . `` I design a house instead of a building , '' he said . `` One problem of professional architecture is that it thinks too much of a building . A house , which is close to our simple and daily life , is more fundamental than architecture . '' The Pritzker judges praised Wang 's ability to create architecture that is timeless , deeply rooted in its context and yet universal . One of the judges , Glenn Murcutt , a previous winner of the architecture prize , described Wang 's work as `` mature , '' avoiding the `` sensational and the novel . '' `` To look at the state of the profession , it would seem that anything is possible , and more often than not , we get anything ! '' he said . Despite his growing reputation , Wang still has to struggle to gain acceptance for his idiosyncratic designs . The first step , he says , is to convince the government and the client , the second step is to marry the construction materials to the plan , and the third is to get those who will use the building to accept it . `` ( This last step is ) the hardest part of all , because the Chinese often think of a building as just a container whose functions can change at will , ' He added . `` I can have no influence on this third stage . ''
Wang Shu , 48 , wins architecture 's premier prize . Chinese designer uses recycled materials from historic buildings . He studied closely with artisans for almost a decade to learn about his materials . Wang studied exclusively in China , unlike many of his contemporaries .