Press Release
The University Square Lawn by Campus Development Office Wins the A' Design Award in Landscape Planning and Garden Design
Campus Development Office acknowledged for landscape planning and garden design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Landscape Planning and Garden Design category for The University Square Lawn by Campus Development Office, designed for The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 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 A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About The University Square Lawn
The University Square is a landscape design for a university campus in Hong Kong. An underused area was transformed into a pedestrian friendly lawn and open space of 2,200 square meters, measuring about 60 by 36 meters. The lawn forms a central meeting point and improves circulation between campus blocks. Two existing mature trees are kept as focal points and framed by custom timber deck seating that was hand crafted on site. The two tier decks support informal gathering, rest and large campus events.
About Campus Development Office
The Campus Development Office (CDO) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is established on 1 October, 2002, and is responsible for the acquisition of accommodation, space and land; overseeing the planning and development of the University and managing all capital and alteration and additions works.
Award Record
This recognition makes Campus Development Office a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Landscape Planning and Garden Design Award
The A' Landscape Design Award is an international landscape design competition recognizing good landscape designs by leading architects and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to landscape designers, urban planners, garden designers and municipalities from all countries. Entries typically include landscape designs, public parks, residential gardens, urban plazas, campus designs and green roofs. Awarded landscape designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/landscape-design
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/169912
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/169912
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!169912
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/364360
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cdo/
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 University Square Lawn
- Function
- Lawn
- Category
- Landscape Planning and Garden Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Sustainability
- Colors
- Yellow Green, Cornflower Blue, Steel Blue, Dark Olive Green and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Campus Development Office
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #169912
Credits
- Team
- AJAR Ltd., SLSL, KHAL and EGIS
- Image Credits
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The University Square is a project that rejuvenated an existing low-utilization area into a 2,200 s.m. pedestrian friendly lawn and open space that significantly enhance the quality of the PolyU community. The project introduce a new symbolic and iconic center for the main campus, and enhance the circulation between campus blocks. The openness of the lawn also provide a groundbreaking social interaction mode.
- Inspiration
- The design concept is to balance the site's natural heritage and introduce the PolyU community of a new social interaction mode, to see and to be seen. This bold design solution represents a new paradigm in campus design, enhancing the sense of community, and strengthen connection between nature.
- Research
- The design team conducted a thorough observation of the younger generation's behavior and identified a key trend: they enjoy being seen and engaging in social interactions within public spaces. To cater to this preference, the team reimagined the existing plaza, transforming it into a vibrant, open space that fosters connection and visibility. The new design features expansive, tree-lined deck seating areas that are both inviting and functional, encouraging people to gather, relax, and interact. The open layout ensures that the space feels inclusive and accessible, while the strategically placed seating under the trees provides a blend of shade and comfort.
- Challenge
- To minimize disturbance to the daily operation of the campus, the bulk of the construction is compressed into the summer holiday period. This limited window of time is further squeezed as Hong Kong faced some of the heaviest rainfall in the past 50 years during 2023 summer. The design and construction team had implemented a phased approach, with more flexible working schedules to ensure the PolyU Community can continue to their operations smoothly and the pedestrian flow around the site is seamless.
- Realization and Technology
- The usual preference for large empty space in campus setting, leans toward constructing academic or research related facilities, but through reimagining the existing plaza and surrounding space, the design creates a 2,200 s.m. pedestrian-friendly lawn and open area that enhances circulation around Block M and the Library Area. This redefined the value of open space in academic environment, as the space will not only provide a serene retreat for relaxation and reconnection with nature but also to accommodate large-scale events for the PolyU community and visitors, such as Flag raising ceremonies, Graduation ceremonies, Information Day, academic fairs to cultural celebrations.
- Operation and Interaction
- The lawn celebrated highlight the two existing veteran trees, integrating them into the design with new timber sitting decks to create popular gathering spots. The custom made deck seating with its irregular shaped decks, is hand-crafted and constructed on site. This approach not only preserved the trees as focal points that encourage the community to sit and interact, but also its warm timber tones add a touch of artistry to the space, making it visually striking. The two tier deck also allow for flexibility in terms of use, and allow users to interact and form different types of engagement.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in March 2023 and completed for Grand Opening in October 2023.
- Specifications
- The lawn is a 2,200 square meter open space. The lawn itself is roughly 60 meter x 36 meter long.
- Keywords
- Lawn, Open Space, University, Institutional, Green Area, Heritage preservation
