Press Release
Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine by Guanghai Cui Is Granted the Platinum A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Guanghai Cui honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Platinum A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine by Guanghai Cui. The result belongs to the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Platinum A' Design Award Explained
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
About Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine
The project is inside the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, in Xikou Town, Fenghua District of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with a planned land area of 144.997 square meters. The project site used to be an abandoned quarry with an open area in front of it, with complicated topology, where the height difference between the highest point and the bottom of the abandoned quarry is about 35 meters, and a North-Ring underground railway line passes through under the quarry.
Award Record
Guanghai Cui is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted in the 2022 - 2023 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/149281
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/149281
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!149281
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/335025
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
- Maitreya Dharma Hall on Abandoned Mine
- Function
- Hall on Abandoned Mine
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Black, Dim Gray, Slate Gray, Light Slate Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Guanghai Cui
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #149281
Credits
- Team
- Guanghai Cui, Jing Li, Wenge Sheng, Xue Song, Jianying Tao, Jin Tao, Zhilan Xu, Jing Wang, Kaikai Wu, Zixuan Yu, Yansheng Liu, Yingjie Li, Zhigang Ma, Peixiang Liu, Fuli Liu and Lei Zhang, Shaokai Jia, Xiaogang Cui, Lei Wang, Hongyan Guo
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The project is inside the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, in Xikou Town, Fenghua District of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, with a planned land area of 144,997 square meters. The project site used to be an abandoned quarry with an open area in front of it, with complicated topology, where the height difference between the highest point and the bottom of the abandoned quarry is about 35 meters, and a North-Ring underground railway line passes through under the quarry.
- Inspiration
- It perfectly covers the abandoned quarry in the shape of a flower bud in the plan, using its limitations to create a single continuous space to hold large audiences of 4500 people and form a splendid interior for the monks and believers to pay respect for Maitreya, repairing the damaged topology of the site in the past with modern architectural technologies. The flower bud plan form symbolizes the belief in Maitreya, who is believed to be the kindest and would save the followers in the future.
- Research
- The second phase of the Buddhist College Project – the Maitreya Altar, is located in the lower area of this famous sacred Buddhist mountain. It has become an important Buddhist cultural place in the Xuedou Mountain Scenic Area, the gateway to the Xuedou Mountain. It will be the main venue of the Maitreya Cultural Festival, religious lectures, conferences, exhibitions, and cultural exchange activities with large audiences.
- Challenge
- This project used a vast old mining pit to form a massive space by covering it up to serve Buddhist sermons, ceremonies, and visits. The surrounding rock wall of the pit was simply reinforced and left alone to maintain the original traces as much as possible. A contrast between the modern architectural structure and the authentic natural environment was thus formed, highlighting the Buddhist concept of conserving nature and nourishing nature after the indigenization of Buddhism.
- Realization and Technology
- A single-shelled glass roof covers the colossal space to symbolize the future "Longhua Dharma Hall". A vertical structural element is inserted in the center of the ample space under the center of the shelled glass roof for vertical ventilation, equipment, and structural reasons, connecting the ground and the roof space,. The spaces on top of the central vertical structure above the glass roof are the splendid group buildings in traditional Chinese style.
- Operation and Interaction
- The Maitreya Altar is the core of this project, which can be divided into four main parts: the Great Mercy Hall in the front, the Longhua Dharma Hall, the vertical structure of Sumeru Mountain, and the Adytum of Tusita Heaven at the top. Three halls representing other Dvipas are designed around the Altar, namely Purvavideha in the east, Aparagodaniya in the west of the Altar, and Uttarakuru in the north, while the Altar represents the Jambudvipa itself.
- Project Duration and Location
- Completed in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China in June 2022
- Specifications
- Total site area: 144,977 ㎡ Building Coverage: 37,649.42 ㎡ Total construction area: 55,574.78 ㎡
- Keywords
- Maitreya Bodhisattva，fundamental ashram，pilgrimage site, Sumeru Mountain, the Adytum of Tusita Heaven
