One of England’s most traditional schools, St Bees, has opened its first school in China in a former shoe factory, thanks to brilliant transformation by Hong Kong-based studio, Orient Occident Atelier. OOA preserved much of the factory’s structure, adding a red brick façade as an unmistakable nod to the classic red sandstone buildings that house the UK school, founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1853.

After two rounds of intense scrutiny and adjudication by our international panel of judges, it’s time to reveal all the winners of A&D Awards 2020.

Topping the charts are our 34 Gold Award winners – 16 in the Architecture and Future Developments categories and 18 in the Interior Design and Innovation & Technology categories. The overwhelming majority were awarded to projects and products in Greater China, with three going to international projects. The judges identified 19 Silver and 15 Bronze Awards.

The winners were selected from 94 shortlisted projects. More than 300 entries were submitted this year, which was a tremendous response from the architecture and interior design community given the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Neri&Hu Design & Research Office has done it again! The Shanghai-based creative studio founded by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu has been named the Practice of the Year in A&D Awards 2020. The inter-disciplinary architectural design practice won two Gold Awards, one Silver and one Bronze.

While the uncertainty of 2020 has shown how vulnerable we all are, it also gives us a chance to refocus on our real needs and what truly matters.

Finding clarity in uncertainty is the central thread of this year’s Business of Design Week (BODW), Asia’s leading event on design, innovation and brands, organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, with Create Hong Kong as Lead Sponsor.

The 96 projects shortlisted in A&D Awards 2020 have been announced and are now available to view here on the A&D Awards website. Just over 30 projects were shortlisted in the Architecture and Future Developments categories, while a further 65 were shortlisted in the Interior Design and Innovation & Technology categories.

London-based architecture judge Cecilia Ho, director of Design Haus Liberty, said there had been many impressive submissions, “particularly projects that managed to deliver a harmonious mix of contemporary design with local heritage.”

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The Rambler is not what you expect to find in an industrial building in the midst of Hong Kong’s container terminals. But that’s exactly what local creative studio, A Work of Substance, intended.

The first round of judging for A&D Awards 2020 has been completed! Some 96 projects – out of the total 305 entries submitted – made the shortlist and are in the running to win a coveted A&D Gold Award in their respective categories for architecture and interior design in Greater China and beyond.

Round Two of judging by the panel of 15 internationally renowned judges is now underway. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed judging A&D Awards this year,” commented London-based architecture judge Cecilia Ho, director of Design Haus Liberty . “There have been a lot of impressive submissions, particularly projects that managed to deliver a harmonious mix of contemporary design with local heritage.”

When legendary Italian ship yard Sanlorenzo wanted to create bespoke luxury yachts for the fast-emerging Chinese market, it looked no further than renowned Hong Kong architect and designer Steve Leung. A keen yachtsman himself, Steve challenged traditional approaches to boat design, which he says don’t necessarily appeal to Asian sensibilities.

More than 60 years ago, these two granaries stored wheat and other grains that fed the people of neighbouring Jiaxing City before they were abandoned and fell into disrepair. Today, thanks to a remarkable restoration by Shanghai studio RoarcRenew, they are contemporary art galleries that nourish the souls of the city’s residents and the many visitors to China’s Zhejiang province.

Sadly, many bookstores have struggled to survive in the digital era. So it’s heartening to see a beautifully designed bookstore open in the harbour city of Qingdao, thanks to a collaboration between Hong Kong studio Karv One Design, mainland developer China Vanke and local bookseller Yan Ji You.