Excellence Recognised
The DFA Design for Asia Awards continues to promote the value of design
Since 2003, the DFA Design for Asia Awards has raised awareness about the value of good design for quality of life. Organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre with Create Hong Kong as lead sponsor, the awards this year drew continued interest from around the region, with more than 1,100 entries submitted from 24 economies.
Entries covered the key perspectives of the awards — overall excellence, use of technology, impact in Asia, and commercial and societal success — while also celebrating Asian aesthetics and culture, and pushing them forward with new design trends.
A judging panel of industry experts from a range of design disciplines has chosen winners for all 211 awards, including ten Grand Award-winning projects, with three selected for their focus on culture, sustainability and technology; all ten are showcased below as an example of the outstanding entries the competition receives and how they contribute to envisioning a design-led future.
01
Raffles City Hangzhou, UNStudio
Grand Award
An urban hub for living, working and leisure, Raffles City was conceived to sustainably integrate urban mixed use. A single seamless flow results from its inclusive approach, with two streamlined towers set atop a podium and plaza and an underground connection to the metro. The building is the first retail mall in China to use large-scale natural ventilation, and has achieved a LEED Gold sustainability certificate.
02
Tsingpu Retreats, Beijing Tsingpu Retreat and Culture Co. Ltd
Grand Award
The word ‘Tsingpu’ comes from the Tibetan language, and means ‘original’. This retreat was created with the concept of going back to the original, i.e. the uniquely beautiful scenery of Yangzhou City. With the idea of blending architectural innovation and traditional culture, the resort strives to be China’s leading destination for human-centric travel.
Image by Osamu Nakamura
03
Tunnel of Light, MAD Architects
Grand Award
Revealed at the 2018 edition of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, this land-based work is the restoration of the historic Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, which cuts through distinctive rock formations and offers panoramic views over one of Japan’s three great chasms. Drawing on the tradition of five natural elements, the design sees artistic installations installed along each lookout, offering renewed perspectives and reconnecting people with the beauty of the land.
04
Xiqu Centre, Revery Architecture and Ronald Lu & Partners
Grand Award
The first performing arts venue in Hong Kong’s new West Kowloon Cultural District was conceived as a cultural sanctuary, blending theatre, Chinese culture and public space for celebration and contemplation. The space embraces the cultural richness of East and West through a contemporary expression that allows traditional art forms to evolve with contemporary technology. Qi is expressed throughout, with curvilinear paths and forms designed around a multi-level circular atrium.
05
The Mills, Nan Fung Design
Grand Award & Grand Award for Sustainability
This complex is a landmark revitalisation project that celebrates Hong Kong’s industrial legacy. The Tsuen Wan district’s textile industry flourished in the post-war years before economic changes took hold, and the project aims to preserve this lost heritage while establishing new possibilities for innovation, culture and learning; its three former cotton mills have been transformed into a single coherent complex consisting of a business incubator, experiential retail and a non-profit arts and cultural centre.
06
Rhys, Rhys Company Limited
Grand Award
Part social project, part fashion label, Rhys was born of the deficiency in quality adaptive clothing in Hong Kong. The brand harnesses the city’s manufacturing capacity to create job opportunities for local women to be trained and manufacture garments for the elderly and people with special needs. The garments’ construction improves users’ lives and comfort in the city’s varied environmental conditions.
07
Mountain House in Mist, Shulin Architectural Design
Grand Award
Located in an ancient mountain forest in Zhejiang Province, the project is located in a heritage village with buildings scattered across different altitudes by the mountain line and dense flora. The ‘book house’ aims to create a serene reading space, thus attracting the younger generation to return to the mountains. Its appealing ambience means that both children and the elderly can feel freedom and happiness spending time there.
08
JAHADAM Project, Seoul Metropolitan Government and THE allim
Grand Award
Seoul’s oldest pedestrian overpass was the subject of this project, which aimed to reimagine it as a public art structure. Using a multidisciplinary approach that reflected local cultural and historical context, the bridge’s spatial characteristics and visitor analysis, the overpass became a new cultural space, combining the imaginations and ideas of local residents that arose from the surrounding natural and built environment.
09
The Power of Action, Zhejiang Made In Natural Culture Creative Co. Ltd
Grand Award & Grand Award for Culture
This company began with the goal of recording and reimagining China’s traditional handicraft culture. For this project, the team travelled to the remote and impoverished Lishui in Zhejiang to study the state of traditional culture in China’s rural hinterland. The result is a documentary record of China’s folk customs and artistic practices, which can underpin a framework and organisation for their remaking and rebirth.
10
Cosmo Leap Sigma, Konica Minolta, Inc.
Grand Award for Technology
An exceptionally compact optical planetarium projector, the Cosmo Leap Sigma is the first in the world to build 80 projections (five times as many as normal) into its one-star ball, and its direct-drive system also achieves quiet operation for enhanced ambience. The design harmonises with the cosmic space in a dome, inviting children and adults alike to explore the cosmos.
In addition to the winners above, seven Grand Awards with Special Mention, and 192 Gold, Silver, Bronze and Merit awards from four design disciplines — Apparel and Accessory Design, Communication Design, Environmental Design, and Product and Industrial Design — across a wide range of categories were also recognised.
