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Press Release

DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Yang Zhao Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Municipal Art Society Headquarters Civilian Mixed Use Building in Architecture, Building and Structure Design

Yang Zhao honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Municipal Art Society Headquarters Civilian Mixed Use Building by Yang Zhao, designed for Uyang Architecture, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2022 - 2023 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Silver A' Design Award Explained

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 Municipal Art Society Headquarters Civilian Mixed Use Building

The Municipal Art Society is a nonprofit organization in New York City that encourages thoughtful planning and urban design. The architect designed a building where a gradual change of privacy is clearly stated: from the public half-underground café to the office on the fourth floor. Among all the programs, the civic forum is the most important, which is completely exposed to the neighborhood and designed in a truly welcoming gesture geometrically and spatially to encourage all citizens to interact and participate for the great cause of preserving the rich history and culture of the city.

About Yang Zhao

My name is Yang Zhao, the founder of UYANG ARCHITECTURE. As a seasoned professional with over years of experience in the Architecture Design industry. I offer a proven track record in designing quality buildings, conducting safe construction administration, and creating meaningful connections with our clients. We seek to deliver projects that have the potential to be timeless, functional, and deeply cultural; and we aspire to break the boundaries interdisciplinarily as well as geographically. We believe culture and technology should join hand in hand, and we human beings should endeavor to pursue it unremittingly for humanity.

Award Record

Yang Zhao is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

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://dezigners.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

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
Municipal Art Society Headquarters Civilian Mixed Use Building
Function
Civilian Mixed Use Building
Category
Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Discipline
Spatial Design
Industry
Architecture
Colors
Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Gray and Dark Gray
Images
5
Client
Uyang Architecture

The Recognition

Laureate
Yang Zhao
Country
United States of America
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2022 - 2023
Design ID
#147708

Credits

Image Credits
Yang Zhao

Design Details

Unique Properties
The Municipal Art Society is a nonprofit, membership-based organization in New York City that encourages thoughtful planning and urban design across the city to preserve history, culture, and neighborhoods. Through various strategies, all the different programs were able to be arranged from the most public café at the half underground to the most private office on the fourth floor, creating several public spaces that seamlessly connect to the site and are fully open to the citizens of New York City.
Inspiration
The site is at the junction of Meatpacking, West Village and Chelsea. These three districts have gone through World War II, the post-industrial era, the hippie culture, and the urban renewal in the 21st century. It can be said that there are ups and downs for more than a century. The local history and culture truly inspired my design to form its own unique style to conform to the urban, historic, industrial and artistic atmosphere of its context, in aspects of programs and spaces.
Research
The design is not just for an office building of MAS, but it is for creating a public civic space for all citizens to join and participate. Through design, we need to consider comprehensively all aspects, including history, culture, spaces, structure, privacy, transparency, thermal, lighting, aesthetics, landscape, etc. Only by making it serve all aspects well, can this design genuinely represent MAS and its fundamental purpose of serving the citizens.
Challenge
The site is at the junction of three districts with a neighborhood environment of long and complex history. By making spaces with a really welcoming gesture and high transparency, the building is calling for all citizens to participate from outdoors to indoors. And privacy gets higher for the staff of MAS when they access the building by using the atrium stairs to go all the way up to the office. In a word, the challenge is to symphonize all participants to interact, learn and enjoy, meanwhile representing the local culture and history, and that is what makes this design interesting.
Realization and Technology
By using parametric software to simulate the thermal insulation materials, window areas and shading area, thermal comfort was optimized with the design of envelope through the entire year. In terms of shading, the sizes and density of the hollows on metal panels are tested, and the diameter of 1 ¼” is finalized to be the best, which can ensure proper natural lighting in the room for the maximum number of hours and also provide a perfect interactive projection surface.
Operation and Interaction
From outdoor to indoor, from underground to rooftop, the MAS Headquarters is full of various public activities. Especially the public forum on the 2nd floor, which draws people from all directions to participate in social events. When citizens come to this site, they can spend a whole day exercising their physical and mental strength, and fully enjoy the benefits that the city offers. This is not only good urban planning and architectural design, but also the fundamental aim of Municipal Art Society.
Project Duration and Location
Designed in 2020, NYC
Specifications
Site Area: 2000 m2, Building Area: 1300 m2, Building Floor: 4, Building Height: 22m
Keywords
public building, culture, history, civic, social event, municipal

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