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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

The Union Church by Tongji Architectural Design Group Co., Ltd Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Lighting Products and Fixtures Design

Tongji Architectural Design Group Co., Ltd honored for lighting products and fixtures design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that The Union Church by Tongji Architectural Design Group Co., Ltd, designed for Tongji Architectural Design Co., Ltd., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Lighting Products and Fixtures 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

About the Silver A' Design Award

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding The Union Church

The Union is a lighting design for a church in Shanghai that was founded in 1886 and stands near the Bund. The church was unused for many years and was transformed into a music performance space in 2021. The lighting creates a small and calm spiritual space that also supports performance needs. Functional lights provide a uniform environment and serve as stage lighting. A large pendant light combines lighting and acoustic functions and holds recessed lights and candle-shaped lights. In-ground wall washers with narrow beams reveal the wall texture and the Gothic arch.

Award Record

Tongji Architectural Design Group Co., Ltd is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. All of the awards belong to the 2021 - 2022 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Lighting Products and Fixtures Design Award

The A' Lighting Design Award is an international lighting design competition recognizing good lighting designs by best lighting designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to lighting designers, lighting architects, industrial design studios and lighting product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include chandeliers, pendant lights, wall sconces, table lamps, floor lamps and outdoor lights. Awarded lighting designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/lighting

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

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
The Union Church
Function
Church
Category
Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
Discipline
Industrial Design
Industry
Furniture & Home and Electronics & Appliances
Colors
Black, Saddle Brown, Sienna, Dark Slate Gray and Gray
Images
5
Client
Tongji Architectural Design Co., Ltd.

The Recognition

Laureate
Tongji Architectural Design Group Co., Ltd
Country
China
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2021 - 2022
Design ID
#136841

Credits

Team
Yang Xiu, Xu Feng, Ma Yue, Bian Chen, Ma Xiaojie, Ge Wenjing, Lu Yawen, Ma Xiyin and Du Ming
Image Credits
Photographer, Lu Yawen, The Union Church, 2021.

Design Details

Unique Properties
The Union Church was founded in 1886, located closely to the Bund in Shanghai. It was once destroyed because of the fire in 2007 and rebuilt in the next two years. It hasn't been properly reused for many years until 2021, and it will be transformed into a music performance space. The aim of lighting design is to create a ‘small and beautiful’ spiritual space meeting the need of performing.
Inspiration
The Union Church has a storied history and has been rebuilt according to its original form, respecting the former materials and structure. The lighting design also inherited the concept and aimed to restore the spirit of the church. The installation of the luminaires was innovative while meeting the functional and characteristic lighting to protect the main structure of the church.
Research
The difficulties in this project were no damage install the light fixtures and acoustic requirements. The interior of the church was reconstructed using 3D software to adjust the installation of the luminaires to reduce damage to the walls. In terms of acoustic needs, we worked with acoustic consultant and creatively embedded thick acrylic panels on the main pendant light to meet the needs of the reflection sound to the stage. In the end, we were able to achieve the design concept at a low cost.
Challenge
The challenges of the lighting design were focused on installation methods and acoustic requirements. Since the protection requirements of ‘no damage to walls’, the design team almost re-create a new truss structure inside of the space. The lighting fixtures are installed on the new structure, leaving no nail hole in the wall. Because of the spatial reverberation, we creatively embedded thick acrylic panels on the pendant light to meet the needs of the reflection sound to the stage.
Realization and Technology
The functional light is used to create a uniform lighting environment and achieve stage lighting. The main pendant light is a ‘creative highlight’, combining both the lighting and acoustic requirements. It is fitted with recessed lights and candle-shaped lights and can match well with the architectural style. The vertical lighting is designed to shape the space volume. In-ground recessed wall washers with narrow beam angle (15 degree) are used to well express the wall texture and the Gothic arch.
Operation and Interaction
The Union Church has been properly reused in 2021, and it was transformed into a music performance space. The interior lighting focuses on the spiritual expression of the church and meets the needs of the music performance space.
Project Duration and Location
The project started in June 2021 in Shanghai and finished in September 2021 in Shanghai.
Specifications
The project covers a total of 410 square meters.
Keywords
Lighting Design, Architectural Lighting, Functional Lighting, Visual Effects, Performance Lighting

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