A sleek new office complex in Hangzhou is another striking illustration of how the future of the workplace is being reimagined following the disruptive impact of Covid-19. Indoor-outdoor courtyards, multi-level greenery and an abundance of open spaces and natural light truly set this twin-tower development by LWK + PARTNERS apart.

The gentrification of Kennedy Town took another giant step forward this year with the opening of 2CS, a community-centric retail and entertainment hub featuring the first independent movie cinema in Hong Kong’s western district. Local studio 4N Design has pulled off a magical transformation that blends beautifully with the local streetscape.

Hong Kong designer Myron Kwan went out on a creative limb with his Green Experience Pavilion in Foshan which dramatically reimagines notions of retailing. However, the risk paid off handsomely as the clients were delighted and Kwan is now the proud recipient of an A&D Gold Award for Interior Design.

Leading architects KPF were big winners in A&D Awards 2020, snapping up three awards including Gold for its ambitious development project in Shanghai’s chic Xintiandi district. Judges loved the way the mixed-use project, which features an ultra-modern office tower, connects with the fabric of the Xintiandi neighbourhood including heritage buildings and parkland.

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.