We are pleased to announce that two Benoy projects have been shortlisted for the 2022 World Architecture Festival China (WAFC) Awards and this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards.
The shortlisted projects are:
• Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Port City, in the International Competition on Landscape
• Guangzhou Yangtian Electric Substation 220-kV, in the Function Design of Substations in Guangzhou
The World Architecture Festival (WAF) is one of the largest and most prestigious events dedicated to the global architecture industry, and the World Architecture Festival China (WAFC) is the only independent event officially authorised by WAF.
This year’s awards have shortlisted 78 design projects for China from 46 top design firms worldwide. These ground-breaking projects have been professionally reviewed by 27 judges from the UK, Germany, Australia and other countries. The category award winners will be revealed at the awarding ceremony scheduled for 2nd December in Chengdu, China.
The online voting channel for the 2022 WAFC Awards is now officially open for the 78 shortlisted design projects and the top five projects with the highest number of votes will win The Most Popular Project (1st place) and People’s Choice (2nd to 5th place).
You are welcome to vote for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Port City and Guangzhou Yangtian Electric Substation 220-kV, as well as other projects you like. Please go to the WAFC official account and find the voting channel image to go to the voting platform and search the projects’ names or 2022043/2022076 to see our projects and vote for them.
The online voting channel will run until 1st Dec 2022 12:00pm (Shanghai time). This public vote typically garners thousands of votes each year, making the Popular Project and People’s Choice as highly regarded as their Jury-vote counterparts.
Be part of the Awards decision-making process!
Click the link below to share and cast your votes on WeChat:
• Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Port City
• Guangzhou Yangtian Electric Substation 220-kV
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Port City
The project is located on Zhuhai Artificial Island. As a central hub, the artificial island not only enriches the transportation and connection between Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macao, but also greatly improves the efficiency of entry and exit via the two ports. In this way, the project creates a ‘one-hour living circle’ between the three places.
Pang Qin, Director and Head of the Shanghai Office who worked as the Principal Project Designer, said: “The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Artificial Island is the cornerstone connecting these three places. It is an important driver for the development of the whole one-hour living circle. The construction of Shimao on the artificial island adds energy and pace to this process. With conference and exhibition centres and hotels, as well as the commercial project and two ports, the artificial island will have a stable ecosystem with rich, functional urban populations. These elements will combine to underpin the overall construction and development of the Greater Bay Area, contributing to a new world-class destination.”
The Zhuhai Shimao Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Port City project consists of a shopping mall, hotel office cluster, international grade office cluster, luxury hotel cluster, cultural centre and exhibition centre. The commercial complex is arranged as a link between the Zhuhai port in the south, the Coastal Plaza in the north, and other surrounding functions. The hotel-style office cluster is enhanced by the beauty and tranquillity of the landscape on the east side of the site. The hotel cluster boasts unique views of the waterfront, while the office and exhibition functions are adjacent to the bus hubs, providing convenient transportation access.
Guangzhou Yangtian Electric Substation 220-kV
Based on the goal of making new progress in four aspects, as put forward in the Guangzhou municipal government’s master plan to accelerate the regeneration of the old city, this substation competition is intended to resolve the problem of municipal public facilities through landscape and function enhancement, promoting their integration into the development of the urban landscape.
Gregory Kovacs, Design Director who worked as the Principal Project Director said, “We all know too well how such substations can become less than welcome, yet permanent, visitors in their neighbourhoods. How can this relationship be turned around to make these pieces of essential infrastructure a part of their neighbourhoods? Integrating them not only into the physical urban context but also into the social fabric? Our strategy was to capture some of the qualities of the tiny, abandoned village we found when we visited the site.”
Inspired by a phoenix’s rebirth, the new substation uses traditional local building materials to gradually emerge from the surrounding landscape like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Benoy used cladding boards to create a three-dimensional effect like a phoenix’s feathers, conveying a subtle and serene beauty in the change of light and shadow. The layered walls are like the heavy clouds of the Baiyun Mountain gently unfolding, bringing traditional local materials back to life in a new creation.
