Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Goes to Tsinghua EE Office Building by Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu

Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu recognized for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Tsinghua EE Office Building by Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu, designed for Beijing Forestry University (BFU). The result belongs to the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided 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.

More About Tsinghua EE Office Building

Tsinghua EE is an interior renovation of a university building used by a department of electronic engineering. The work covers public areas on four floors, including the entrance lobby, a history exhibition hall, communication spaces and an alumni salon. Existing spatial structures are retained, while closed walls are opened to create a more open atmosphere. Glass, wood, steel and aluminum plates are combined with lighting to suggest a technological character. Cubes are inserted throughout the space to host exhibition, reception, seminar, resting and quiet study.

About Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu

Beijing Forestry University (BFU) is a key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China, and is built jointly by the Ministry of Education and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. BFU is one of the first higher education institutions selected for China’s “211 Project” and is enlisted as an Innovation Platform for Prioritized Academic Disciplines and a Double First-Class university.

Award Record

Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu 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/153172
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/153172
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!153172
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/346904
Further Information from the Laureate: https://youtu.be/LXtcXv_Mbuk

Media Contact

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

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Tsinghua EE Office Building
Function: Office Building
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Light Gray, Silver, Dark Gray, Midnight Blue and Light Slate Gray
Images: 5
Client: Beijing Forestry University (BFU)

The Recognition

Laureate: Yao Lu, Zhou Yun and Zhou Xu
Country: China
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2023 - 2024
Design ID: #153172

Credits

Team: Yao Lu, Zhou Yun, Zhou Xu, Tao Yijin, She Tangzheng and Dai Weisi
Image Credits: Jin Weiqi

Design Details

Unique Properties: The space renovation takes "energy transmission" as the design concept. The "energy" comes from the history, culture, technology and information of the Department, and its carriers are spaces, images and interactive interfaces. The design strategy is to open the closed, negative surfaces in the space, and retain the existing spatial structures while subtly inserting "E cubes" throughout the space to accommodate varied functions such as exhibition, reception, seminar, resting and solitude.
Inspiration: The building is an iconic landmark in Tsinghua University. Built in 2011, it has a gross floor area of over 30,000 sqm, serving teaching and research spaces for the Department of Electronic Engineering. The building has been used for over a decade. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Department, a renovation project was launched to renew its space to better showcase the culture and spirit of the Department and its educational philosophy.
Research: The project is intended to convey the Department's inclusive educational philosophy, its exploring spirit in scientific research and its profound history through space. Based on Environment-Behavior Studies, the designers opened the original walls to create an open working and visiting experience and inserted "cubes" of various functions to deliver care to groups and individuals. As a result, the faculty and students can work in an open atmosphere and engage with the history of the Department.
Challenge: The biggest challenge was how to show humanistic care, historical repository and the spirit of scientific research through space renovation, so as to further influence users' behaviors. Another challenge was to ensure the normal operation of teaching and research activities during construction. Therefore, the designers maintained the existing spatial structures while subtly inserting "cubes" throughout the space. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic also slowed down the construction progress.
Realization and Technology: 3 boxes made by blue glass are inserted into the entrance lobby serving as a reception space, a faculty wall and a mobile exhibition area. The designers transformed the original form of columns and ceilings, and utilized aluminum plates and lighting to create a sense of technology. The team also reorganized the layout on 6F, and created the narratives through space and interactive installations. Glass, wood and steel are mixed to communicate the temperament of sci-tech research institutes.
Operation and Interaction: Materials and images are used to highlight a technological atmosphere in the lobby. The curved area on 5F is for exchanges and encounters between faculty and students. It is designed with various functions and is equipped with flexible furniture pieces to meet different needs. 6F consists of areas for exhibition and alumni salon. Through space renovation, interactive installations and visual design, it exhibits the Department's long history and its spirit in sci-tech innovation.
Project Duration and Location: The project started in November 2020 and finished in July 2022. Project location: Tsinghua Electronic Engineering Building, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Specifications: The existing building has an L-shaped layout on each floor, with a curved area in the middle as the public activity space and office rooms in the two wings. The project has mainly renovated the public space on 1F, 2F, 5F and 6F, to offer functions including department identity display, reception and communication, seminar and salon, department history exhibition, and technology exhibition, etc. The total area of this renovation project is 1,767 sqm.
Keywords: EE Building, open space, a sense of technology, humanistic care, Environment-Behavior Studies, interactive display