Professor Guan is an architect, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the chief architect of the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tsinghua University.

In 2005, Guan won the architectural design award given by the World Association of Chinese Architects. Guan was also the winner of the first Liang Sicheng Architecture Award in 2000. In the same year, he was honored as a National Engineering Design Master.

Guan has taken part in many design and research projects as follows:

● Tsinghua University Library – a golden design medal of the National Quality Engineering Award

● Beijing Subway's Dongsishitiao Station – selected as one of Beijing's top ten buildings in the 1980s

● Alexander Library in Egypt – an international design competition special award given by the International Union of Architects

● Building complex of Tsinghua University's School of Sciences – 1997 Capital Architecture Exhibition Top 10 Buildings, and the second prize of the outstanding design award issued by the Ministry of Education in 2000

● Peking University Library – the first prize of 1998 Capital Architecture Exhibition Top 10 Buildings, the first prize of the outstanding design award issued by the Ministry of Education in 2000, and outstanding architectural design award granted by the World Association of Chinese Architects

● Xuzhou Museum – the second prize of outstanding design award granted by the Ministry of Education in 2000

● The Second Teaching Building of Hainan University – the first prize of Outstanding Design Award in Hainan province

Guan has published Guan Zhaoye Selected Works (1956-2001), and over 40 theses on architecture.