Press Release
Bronze A' Design Award in Event and Happening Design Goes to Climbing Amphitheatre Temporary Theater by Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu
Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu recognized for event and happening design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 16, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Climbing Amphitheatre Temporary Theater by Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu, designed for Studio WE, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Event and Happening Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 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.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
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.
Regarding Climbing Amphitheatre Temporary Theater
"Climbing the Ladder, Party Amphitheatre" in Aiyuan Town, Jiangsu, reinterprets the traditional farming ladder as a symbol of communal engagement and cultural continuity. Through a modular system of timber frames, ladders, and tension straps, villagers actively assemble and dismantle the temporary theater. As a mobile, participatory venue for performances, films, and gatherings, it enhances social interaction, revitalizes the orchard, and integrates harmoniously with the rural landscape.
About Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu
Yutao Chen is an architectural designer and computational design specialist whose work bridges advanced digital methodologies with built architectural practice. His work focuses on integrating parametric systems, material research, and performance-driven design into complex architectural and urban contexts. Through professional practice, independent research, and collaborative work, he contributes to the development of contemporary design workflows that expand how architecture is conceived, evaluated, and delivered.
Award Record
With this recognition, Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Event and Happening Design Award
The A' Event Design Award is an international event design competition recognizing good event designs by leading event designers and organizers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to event designers, corporate event planners, wedding planners and festival organizers from all countries. Entries typically include trade fairs, award ceremonies, festivals, conferences, exhibitions and concerts. Awarded event designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/event
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/176296
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/176296
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!176296
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/373158
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://archinect.com/firms/project/150497785/ladders-as-arc
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
- Climbing Amphitheatre Temporary Theater
- Function
- Temporary Theater
- Category
- Event and Happening Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Arts
- Colors
- Black, Maroon, Sienna, Saddle Brown and Chocolate
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Studio WE
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yutao Chen and Yiwen Gu
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #176296
Credits
- Image Credits
- Yutao Chen
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Climbing the Ladder, Party Amphitheatre is a modular, community-assembled temporary theater made of timber frames, ladders, and tension straps. Designed for assembly by local villagers, it fosters participation as both audience and builders. The adaptable structure hosts performances and screenings, revitalizing the orchard into a social hub. This project merges architecture with rural life, turning tools into a spatial framework that strengthens community bonds.
- Inspiration
- Rooted in the centuries-old pear orchards of Aiyuan Town, Jiangsu, this project draws inspiration from the everyday ladder. Reimagined as a collective architectural element, the ladder, traditionally used for farming and labor, becomes a symbol of gathering and shared memory. By transforming this familiar object into a modular spatial system, the design celebrates local traditions while creating a contemporary platform for performance and communal life within the orchard landscape.
- Research
- This field research investigated the integration of vernacular farming tools into participatory rural architecture. The objective was to create a low-cost, modular theater system. Using qualitative observation and structural prototyping, the study engaged local villagers as active participants in the assembly process. Results showed that utilizing familiar ladders as core components reduced construction barriers and costs. This research impacts rural social cohesion by proving that community-driven, low-tech frameworks can successfully revitalize orchard landscapes into interactive cultural venues.
- Challenge
- This design explores how participatory architecture can activate rural spaces and strengthen social cohesion through simple, adaptable systems. By transforming ladders - an everyday rural object - into a spatial and cultural framework, the project demonstrates how design can elevate ordinary tools into platforms for interaction, performance, and collective experience. The amphitheatre reveals the potential of low-tech, community-driven construction to create meaningful public spaces that are flexible, inclusive, and deeply connected to local culture.
- Realization and Technology
- The structure employs a modular timber frame system combined with locally sourced ladders and tension straps, enabling rapid assembly and disassembly without heavy machinery. Structural stability is achieved through interlocking joints and adjustable tensioning, while the modular system allows scalability and adaptation to orchard topography. Timber surfaces are treated for durability, ensuring both functional performance and visual harmony with the rural landscape.
- Operation and Interaction
- The amphitheatre is assembled collaboratively by villagers through a simple system of interlocking timber frames, ladders, and straps. Audiences move freely between levels, sit on ladders or platforms, and engage with performances from multiple perspectives. The open, reconfigurable layout encourages informal interaction, flexibility, and immersion, allowing the space to adapt to different events while fostering a shared sense of ownership and participation.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was developed and constructed between March and September 2024 in Aiyuan Town, Jiangsu, China. Installed within the town's pear orchards, the amphitheatre was activated during seasonal festivals and community gatherings, reinforcing local participation and cultural engagement.
- Specifications
- The modular amphitheatre consists of timber frame units measuring 2,400 mm x 1,200 mm x 2,500 mm. Ladders function as adjustable seating risers ranging from 500 mm to 1,500 mm in height, enabling flexible audience arrangements. Fully assembled, the structure spans up to 12 m x 8 m x 4 m and adapts easily to uneven orchard terrain.
- Keywords
- Community Architecture, Modular Design, Participatory Design, Rural Innovation, Timber Structure, Mobile Amphitheatre, Cultural Heritage, Interactive Space, Adaptive Reuse, Festival Pavilion
