Lu loves that architecture asks its practitioners to think like artists, scientists, historians, and futurists all at once. Buildings are products of their time and place, and become snapshots of the conditions that shaped them, reflecting the regional qualities, economy, politics, culture, and history of a particular moment.

But for Lu, architecture is about more than understanding a place. It is also about shaping how people experience it. That is why he looks for opportunities to bring playfulness, delight, and curiosity into the work. This openness to experimentation is something he continues to learn from his young son; watching a child experience the world without fixed assumptions reminds Lu that architecture, too, should resist unnecessary conventions. A window does not have to be square simply because that is what we expect. There is always room to question, reimagine, and discover new possibilities.

Born in Nanjing and shaped by moves across different geographic and cultural contexts, Lu developed an early awareness of how profoundly place shapes perception. Those transitions taught him to pay attention to the physical and cultural differences that define environments, and the ways that architecture mediates between them.

The ideal architect, according to Lu, is both maker and idealist: someone with dirty boots and a suit jacket, equally comfortable in the field and in concept. Someone grounded enough to build responsibly, but imaginative enough to keep pushing for what architecture can become.