Press Release
Xinyun Li Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Aero Grove Community Cultural Center in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Xinyun Li recognized for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Aero Grove Community Cultural Center by Xinyun Li has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 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 assessed 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 Aero Grove Community Cultural Center
Aero Grove is a cultural building set in a public green space in Boston. It explores how large architecture can humbly integrate into the city, introducing cultural and educational functions while preserving the site's freedom and fluidity. Exhibition spaces blend with immersive experiences, and a second level platform fosters dialogue and practice. Its flowing circular form and undulating ramps naturally connect people, architecture, and nature. The building facade becomes a canvas for daylight and shadow. It offers experiences from city views to intimate courtyards.
About Xinyun Li
Xinyun Li is a New York–based registered architect and multidisciplinary designer working at the intersection of architecture, technology, and cultural narrative. She holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and currently works at Perkins Eastman. Her experience spans large-scale mixed-use districts, office towers, institutional environments, residential development studies, and human-centered healthcare spaces, with a focus on design quality, feasibility, and user experience. Alongside professional practice, Xinyun develops conceptual and research-driven work that explores how architecture can serve as a medium of expression.
Award Record
This recognition makes Xinyun Li a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Entries typically include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. Awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture
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/173447
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/173447
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!173447
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/369493
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
- Aero Grove Community Cultural Center
- Function
- Community Cultural Center
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Dark Olive Green, Olive Drab and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Xinyun Li
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #173447
Credits
- Image Credits
- Xinyun Li
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Aero Grove is a public cultural center located in a public area in Boston. The design explores how a large structure can humbly integrate into the urban fabric. It aims to create an inviting, active green space while featuring exhibition and immersive experience areas. Its fluid, circular form ensures open access and encourages community use. Incorporating a central courtyard, rooftop paths, and layered facades, the building seamlessly blends into the cityscape and promotes interaction among community members, culture, and technology.
- Inspiration
- When a building is introduced to a site, the architect has a responsibility to consider the original function of the space and its significance to users, the community, and the city. Designing in a highly frequented public green space calls for the building to enter the site with a humble presence, preserving as much of the original function as possible while creating new moments of interaction for both people and the urban environment.
- Research
- Observe and interview users of the existing public space to understand how it is currently used. Analyze their activities not only to incorporate them into the design, but also to enhance the environment and introduce a wider variety of spaces.
- Challenge
- How to make the open space more active to provide diverse spaces to attract people to enjoy the design.
- Realization and Technology
- GFRC Ultra Clear Laminated Low-E Glass Travertine Tile Marble Tile Pebble pavement
- Operation and Interaction
- The design with its open green area provides different environments for the community to enjoy the public space: enjoying sunshine, staying under the shade of trees, and resting under the roof. It provides different heights for people to interact with the city through the rooftop trail.
- Project Duration and Location
- Boston, United States The design phase lasted 4 months. It is a concept design.
- Specifications
- GFRC applied on the roof's thickness transfers from 0.5m to 1.7m Standard glass mullion
- Keywords
- Cultural Center, Public Building, Urban Responsibility, Levitated Roof, Interaction, Humble attitude, Serve community
