Press Release
Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Mailiao Township Library Aesthetic Living Center in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Mailiao Township Library Aesthetic Living Center by Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao, designed for C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About Mailiao Township Library Aesthetic Living Center
Mailiao Township is a cultural park with a library and a cultural living center in coastal Yunlin, Taiwan. The two buildings frame an egg-shaped courtyard, the Aesthetic Incubation Plaza, which offers shade and shelter from strong sun and coastal winds. Deep overhangs, double-layered walls and semi-outdoor spaces support comfort through the year. Brick, long used in rural Taiwan, wraps the upper facades, while recessed glass at ground level links inside and outside. The library is planned around the needs of seniors and children.
About Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao
C. M. Chao currently has 60 colleagues, including the Kaohsiung office, the Tainan branch, and the Taichung branch. We are good at transforming landscape into design. We regard design as a process of environmental creation and find new ideas through this process. The value of space, and I believe that architectural creation must be connected with the land and life, so that space can move people.
Award Record
This recognition makes Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. All of the awards belong to the 2025 - 2026 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/174507
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/174507
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!174507
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/370826
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
- Mailiao Township Library Aesthetic Living Center
- Function
- Library Aesthetic Living Center
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Steel Blue, Cadet Blue, Dark Gray, Silver and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Mailiao Township, Zoom Design and C.M.Chao
- Country
- Taiwan (China)
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #174507
Credits
- Team
- Mailiao township office, Zoom Design Atelier, C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners
- Image Credits
- C.M.Chao. Architect & Planners
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The library entrance is low and gradually rises toward a central atrium, where senior and children's reading zones sit. Varying heights, scales, and steps define areas, while ramps link levels and shift perspectives. A digital reading mezzanine offers a pause before the second floor. Visitors enjoy views of farmland or the sunlit atrium, with quiet zones under one roof. Brickwork patterns wrap the upper façades, while recessed glass at ground level blurs indoor and outdoor, emphasizing horizontality.
- Inspiration
- Located in southwest Yunlin's Mailiao Township, the site faces strong sun and coastal winds. The design adopts climate-responsive strategies, semi-outdoor spaces, double-layered walls, and deep overhangs to reduce heat and ensure year-round comfort. The park includes two main buildings: the Aesthetic Living Center and Library, forming an egg-shaped central courtyard, the 'Aesthetic Incubation Plaza.' This shared space offers shade, wind protection, and fosters social interaction.
- Research
- When architecture becomes a vessel of culture, it becomes a dialogue between people and place. In coastal Yunlin, this library and aesthetic living center blend historical depth with future values. Climate-responsive design, deep overhangs, layered walls, and semi-outdoor zones ensure comfort. The two buildings form a shaded plaza for gathering. Brick facades recall rural roots while bridging past and present. Promoting cultural sustainability and everyday aesthetics, the space invites learning, creativity, and belonging.
- Challenge
- Architecture is more than a spatial container; it is a cultural witness and a recorder of its time. The biggest challenge was ensuring that the architecture 'spoke the language of the people.' The design team sought an expression that could transcend age and language, conveying deep cultural values. Though brick was chosen as the main material, transforming this 'old-fashioned' element into a contemporary, accessible symbol of collective memory required precise design sensibility and cultural sensitivity.
- Realization and Technology
- The design team selected one of the most humble yet emotionally resonant materials, brick. Widely used in Taiwan's rural architecture, brick evokes strong cultural memory. Traditional rural pigsties often used ventilated brickwork for airflow and light, exemplifying early green design. Bricks are earth-based, tactile, and expressive, but have been largely replaced by industrial tile in modern urban settings. The project revives the nearly lost craft by reinterpreting brick in a contemporary language, transforming a 'nostalgic' material into a timeless cultural medium.
- Operation and Interaction
- The dual cores, library, and aesthetic living center form a shared cultural facility. The central Aesthetic Incubation Plaza connects the two buildings, offering both climatic comfort and social interaction. Rooted in local climate and demographics, the design responds to seniors and children while using brick to preserve and reinterpret cultural memory. The result is a meaningful community landmark, serving both as a platform for everyday learning and a starting point for Mailiao's cultural revitalization.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project finished in September 2022 in Taiwan.
- Specifications
- The total building area is 23,474 square meters, the site area is 5,404 square meters, and the total floor area is 11,156 square meters. The design centers on functionality. Two buildings, the Aesthetic Living Center and the Library, surround the egg-shaped central courtyard. The Living Center provides exhibitions and lifelong learning for the community. The Library, serving a coastal area with an aging population, focuses on seniors' and children's needs.
- Keywords
- Brick, Cultural Sustainability, Aesthetic Incubation Plaza, Semi-Outdoor Design, Local Revitalization, Energy-Efficient Architecture
