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Press Release

DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Shiyan Chen Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Soundview Ferry Terminal in Architecture, Building and Structure Design

Shiyan Chen honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Soundview Ferry Terminal by Shiyan Chen has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Bronze A' Design Award Means

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

More About Soundview Ferry Terminal

Soundview is a ferry terminal designed as a mixed use complex on a waterfront site in the Bronx, New York City. Three building volumes are clustered along the waterfront beside an existing dock, forming a semi-enclosed courtyard for an outdoor market and public events. Two passageways on the ground level allow movement into the market and towards the landing dock. The larger upper levels are connected and offer full height, naturally lit spaces for small business incubation, offices and storage. The cantilevered upper floors are supported by a space frame resting on fanning columns.

About Shiyan Chen

Shiyan Chen is an aspiring architectural designer with a unique background in intellectual history and scene design.

Award Record

This recognition makes Shiyan Chen a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award

The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project
Soundview Ferry Terminal
Function
Ferry Terminal
Category
Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Discipline
Spatial Design
Industry
Architecture
Colors
Saddle Brown, Black, Light Gray, Light Steel Blue and Dim Gray
Images
5

The Recognition

Laureate
Shiyan Chen
Country
United States of America
Recognition
Bronze A' Design Award
Edition
2021 - 2022
Design ID
#137303

Design Details

Unique Properties
The proposal features three building volumes clustered along the waterfront by an existing dock in Soundview, creating an intimate semi-enclosed courtyard for an outdoor market and public events. The two passageways on the ground level allows for flow into the market as well as towards the waterfront and the landing dock for ferry transportation. The larger upper levels of the three buildings are connected, each offering full height, naturally-lit spaces for small business incubation, offices, and storage.
Inspiration
The old, crumbling yet incredibly vivid and intimate architecture and streetscape of Paris described by Emile Zola in his book The Belly of Paris serves as the main inspiration for this mixed used design combing an outdoor market, a commuter ferry terminal, and incubator spaces for restaurant industry entrepreneurs.
Research
The design seeks to create a sense of intimacy and spontaneity of free-flowing informal markets in the cervices of a dense urban fabric. The designer studied Emile Zola’s realist novel The Belly of Paris as an example and selected multiple materials for a paneling system to emulate the material variety and historical patina of buildings described by Zola.
Challenge
The main challenge is to incorporate the variety of program in one complex that also utilizes the waterfront location for both its spatial and scenic values. The market component of the program asks for a fluid connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces, which also serves the transit function of the ferry terminal. Another design challenge is the inversion of traditional indoor and outdoor spatial qualities. The outdoor space is intimate and while the indoor space is open and vast.
Realization and Technology
Since the complex is designed to offer an intimate, semi-enclosed outdoor space for the market while also allowing adequate flow from the ferry dock to the neighborhood, it has a small footprint divided into individual spaces on the ground level. The upper level, however, has a large open connected space for best productivity and communication among the incubators. This means that the upper parts of the building are cantilevered and is realized through a space frame structure supported by fanning columns.
Operation and Interaction
This complex serves commuters who take the Soundview ferry to their workplace across New York City. In the morning, they wait for the ferry in the waiting room at the east end of the complex. After a day of work, they walk from the ferry dock and through an outdoor plaza towards the waterfront market, which features local produce and creative products developed by the food incubators housed on the upper level of the building. After shopping at the market and thus supporting the incubators, they will walk through the underpass at the west end of the complex towards their homes or local public transit stops in the area.
Project Duration and Location
The project was conceived in the fall of 2017 for a site in Soundview, Bronx in New York City.
Specifications
The ground level of the complex features 600-square-meter warehouse space, 380-square-meter events and administrative spaces, and 100-square-meter ferry waiting room. The upper level features 4 commercial incubators totaling 475 square meters, 500-square-meter warehouse space, and 710-square-meter lobby, huddle space and circulation space.
Keywords
Market, Ferry, Commercial

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