Press Release
Pine To Sea Urban Renew by Yanci Chen Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Urban Planning and Urban Design
Yanci Chen recognized for urban planning and urban 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 announced that Pine To Sea Urban Renew by Yanci Chen has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Urban Planning and Urban Design category. The award was conferred within 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 evaluated 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.
About Pine To Sea Urban Renew
Pine to Sea is an eco-hotel and landscape masterplan located in the Lignano Pinewood in Italy. The project combines hospitality with the restoration of a fragile coastal environment. Elevated cabins rest on minimal-impact steel foundations, and raised walkways lead visitors across reforested wetlands and observation decks. Lightweight timber, modular prefabrication, bio-based insulation and permeable surfaces limit disturbance to the site. Rainwater harvesting, passive ventilation and solar energy reduce energy use. The masterplan covers 12,000 square meters.
About Yanci Chen
Yanci Chen is an architect and designer whose work explores the intersection of architecture, ecology, and cultural narratives. She is a Technical Designer at Gensler Seattle. Her experience spans workspace, science, cultural, and public projects with a focus on adaptive reuse, spatial storytelling, and digital methodologies. Chen’s work has been recognized in international exhibitions and design competitions, and she regularly contributes to the field as a juror, mentor, and advocate for inclusive, environmentally responsive design.
Award Record
This recognition makes Yanci Chen a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted in the 2024 - 2025 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' City Planning and Urban Design Award
The A' Urban Design Award is an international urban design competition recognizing good urban plans and designs by best urban planners and architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to urban planning designers, urban architects, city planners and urban designers from all countries. Typical entries include masterplans, zoning proposals, infrastructure designs, landscape blueprints, public space concepts and urban renewal projects. The awarded urban plan designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/urban-planning
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is 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. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously 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. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which 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, uploading a work and receiving a 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. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/170451
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170451
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170451
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/351060
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
- Pine To Sea Urban Renew
- Function
- Urban Renew
- Category
- Urban Planning and Urban Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Social Impact
- Colors
- Dark Olive Green, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Gray and Rosy Brown
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yanci Chen
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170451
Credits
- Team
- Yanci Chen,, Jing Chen,, Zhuoran Liu,, Xian Chi,, Jingzi Cui, and Jiming Bai
- Image Credits
- Yanci Chen,Jing Chen,Zhuoran Liu,Xian Chi,Jingzi Cui,Jiming Bai
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Pine to Sea is an eco-hotel and landscape masterplan that seamlessly integrates hospitality with environmental restoration in Lignano Pinewood. The design preserves and enhances the natural ecosystem through elevated architecture, reforested wetlands, and adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure. Elevated walkways and floating cabins minimize site disturbance while maximizing guest immersion in nature. By blending sustainability, biodiversity, and experiential design, it redefines eco-tourism.
- Inspiration
- Pine to Sea is inspired by the fragile balance between tourism and ecological preservation in Lignano Pinewood. The project seeks to restore degraded landscapes while offering an immersive eco-tourism experience. Drawing from research on coastal reforestation, habitat regeneration, and low-impact architecture, the design integrates elevated structures, natural water filtration systems, and adaptive reuse strategies to harmonize human presence with the evolving coastal ecosystem.
- Research
- Pine to Sea is based on environmental and architectural research exploring sustainable eco-tourism in fragile coastal landscapes. The objective was to design low-impact hospitality solutions that restore biodiversity. Using GIS mapping, ecological surveys, and case studies, data was collected on forest regeneration, water flow, and visitor behavior. Results confirmed the viability of elevated structures and reforestation, influencing sustainable tourism policies and nature-based design.
- Challenge
- The biggest challenge in Pine to Sea was balancing eco-tourism development with environmental preservation. The fragile pine forest and wetlands required low-impact design strategies, overcoming challenges in elevated construction, water management, and habitat protection. Zoning restrictions and ecological guidelines shaped design decisions, while limited data on reforestation impacts necessitated interdisciplinary research. The project redefines hospitality by merging conservation with immersive tourism.
- Realization and Technology
- Pine to Sea employs lightweight timber construction, elevated steel foundations, and modular prefabrication to minimize site impact and protect the fragile pine ecosystem. The project integrates bio-based insulation, permeable surfaces, and passive cooling strategies for sustainability. Digital terrain analysis and parametric modeling optimized building placement, ensuring minimal disruption while enhancing biodiversity through reforestation, wetland restoration, and water-sensitive design.
- Operation and Interaction
- Pine to Sea offers an immersive eco-tourism experience by seamlessly integrating architecture with nature. Elevated cabins provide a minimal-impact retreat, allowing guests to stay within the pine forest while protecting the landscape. Visitors explore the site through floating walkways, reforested trails, and wetland observation decks, fostering a deep connection with the environment. The design enhances biodiversity while ensuring comfort, sustainability, and ecological awareness.
- Specifications
- Pine to Sea features a modular eco-hotel complex with elevated cabins measuring 4,000mm (W) x 8,000mm (D) x 3,500mm (H), supported by minimal-impact steel foundations. The masterplan spans 12,000m², incorporating elevated walkways (1,500mm wide), reforested wetlands, and adaptive public spaces. The site integrates rainwater harvesting, passive ventilation, and solar energy systems, ensuring a low-carbon footprint and ecological resilience.
- Keywords
- eco-hotel, sustainable tourism, modular architecture, elevated cabins, coastal reforestation, wetland restoration, passive design, biodiversity conservation, low-impact development, adaptive reuse
