Cross Multifunctional Bookstore by Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ Cross Multifunctional Bookstore by Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen, designed for MUST Design Digital Construction Laboratory, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within 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 scored 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.

About Cross Multifunctional Bookstore

Cross is a multifunctional bookstore created for public reading, salon events, coffee and study. A simple warehouse-like space covers 70 percent of the 780 square meter interior, which keeps the construction budget low. The remaining area holds a large partition installation of 48 Chinese moon gates and western arches, generated with parametric software and prefabricated in a factory. The frames are steel and the surfaces are perforated aluminum panels, with embedded LED strips that soften the material. Gradient colors mark each function and help visitors find their way.

About Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen

MUST Design Digital Construction Laboratory belongs to Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST). MUST Design Digital Construction Laboratory was established in 2017. Adhering to universities' and colleges' scientific and humanistic spirit, it explores the application of parametric design and related materials and construction technologies. Research innovative metal hybrid printing manufacturing, complex structure manufacturing, automated manufacturing, and other technologies and hybrid technologies.

Award Record

Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award

The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/interior

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/144944
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/144944
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!144944
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/336552

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: Cross Multifunctional Bookstore
Function: Multifunctional Bookstore
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Silver, Light Gray, Gray, Gainsboro and Dim Gray
Images: 5
Client: MUST Design Digital Construction Laboratory

The Recognition

Laureate: Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and Kau Chen
Country: Macau (China)
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2022 - 2023
Design ID: #144944

Credits

Team: Xixi Quan, Junming Chen and KaU Chen

Design Details

Unique Properties: This compound bookstore provides a place for comfortable reading and salon activities in public. It’s funded by the government and with low construction budget. The bookstore’s aesthetics are Chinese and Western, modern and classical, and simple and colorful. The "Moon Gate and Arch" Space partition installation not only means no cultural ramparts between human cultures but also encourages readers to open their minds and approach the truth infinitely. Citizens voted it the champion among 13 "My Favorite Bookstores of 2022".
Inspiration: "Cross" here is a verb. In the Chinese context, it means "ferry" and "transition." In Mahayana Buddhism, "cross" means Dharma ferries all living beings to the other side of the river of wisdom. So does the bookstore. "Transition" is interpreted by the "Moon Gate and Arch" Space partition installation with color and shape gradients. Because the Chinese classical Moon Gate and the Arch from the West are the abstract visual symbols of Zhongshan city, it is a hometown of overseas Chinese where Chinese and Western cultures blend.
Research: Research background: In the age of Internet addiction, the amount of paper book reading by the Chinese public has dropped dramatically, and the government subsidizes bookstores to guide the public to read and brighten their wisdom. They hope that the bookstore can interpret the urban culture of Zhongshan City. To design a famous bookstore, a low-cost budget and time are the biggest challenges. Objective: Multiple functions, strong spatial identifiability, short construction period, unique design aesthetics and connotation, precise control of construction process by parametric software, low cost.
Challenge: The most challenging parts of the project are: First, find out the deep connection between the abstract cultural symbols of Zhongshan City and the connotation of the verb Cross brand; Then, solve the contradiction between the low-cost budget and the realization of creative ideas. Finally, the design used controllable parametric data extraction and factory-prefabricated cheap perforated aluminum plate to realize "Moon Gate-Arch" Space partition installation, making it not only a partition or boundary but also corridors or tunnels.
Realization and Technology: Due to the low construction budget, a virtual warehouse-like space was created by the designer in 70% of the area to save money. Yet, the other 30% used the parametric plugin Grasshopper to generate numerous changing Chinese Moon Gates and Western Arches. They combine into a large space partition installation to create a solid spatial logic and visual impact for spatial accessibility and regularity. The structure of perforated aluminum panels was prefabricated at the factory to shorten the project time and simplify the site construction craft.
Operation and Interaction: The colorful "Moon Gate and Arch" define different functional spaces and guide people to find where the desired product or book is located quickly. Such as salon space, coffee space, study space, leisure space, and other places. Color corresponds to a spatial function, and this rule strengthens the reader's memory of the spatial logic, making it difficult to get lost. The rainbow-like gradient color gives a soft and clean visual enjoyment.
Project Duration and Location: The project is located in a shopping mall in the center of Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China. The city is a hometown of overseas Chinese and the birthplace of China's modern democratic revolution. The project started in March 2021 and finished in July 2021. The bookstore officially opened in August 2021.
Specifications: The design area is about 780 square meters. The installation covers approximately 245 square meters. It has 48 moon gates and arches, parametrically generated according to each part of space's areas, spans, and functions. A computer numerical control factory produces them. Make the produced components exactly match the site. The installation frameworks were steel, and the interfaces were made of perforated aluminum plates. The LED light strips embedded in the framework render hard material as soft as gauze.
Keywords: Chinese Moon Gate, Western Arch, Shape and Color Transition, Parameterized generated the installation, The Minimalist Expression of Chinese and Western Culture Mixing, Ferry the Public to The Other Side of Wisdom