Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu and Xi Huang Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Lilac Reborn Hotel Converted Media Center in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu and Xi Huang honored for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 24, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Lilac Reborn Hotel Converted Media Center by Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu and Xi Huang, designed for Harbin Institute of Technology Sun Cheng Young Scientist Studio. The result belongs to 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.

What the A' Design Award Means

The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

About Lilac Reborn Hotel Converted Media Center

Lilac Reborn is a media center created by renovating an abandoned hotel in Harbin, China. The design is inspired by the local lilac flower. Two shared spaces form the core: the Lilac Hall, with natural light and a water feature, and the Regeneration Hall, built with recycled construction waste. Dual atriums bring daylight to ninety two percent of the functional areas. Recycled concrete, high-performance insulation panels and eco-friendly coatings were used. Movable partitions allow rooms to become lecture halls or workstations.

Award Record

With this recognition, Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu and Xi Huang is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award

The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/interior

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/179079
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179079
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179079
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/377289

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: Lilac Reborn Hotel Converted Media Center
Function: Hotel Converted Media Center
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Black, Gray, Dim Gray, Light Gray and Light Slate Gray
Images: 5
Client: Harbin Institute of Technology Sun Cheng Young Scientist Studio

The Recognition

Laureate: Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu and Xi Huang
Country: China
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2025 - 2026
Design ID: #179079

Credits

Team: Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu, Xi Huang, Xiufeng Li, Yue Wang, Wanying Zheng, Xumiao Guo, Jian Zhang and Guoliang Xu
Image Credits: Photographer Dagang Qu (CMG Project Team), Media Hub Renovation, 2025.; Photographer Dagang Qu (CMG Project Team), Lilac Media Hub and Office Space, 2025.; Photographer Dagang Qu (CMG Project Team), Lilac Media Hub Transportation Core, 2025.; Photographer Dagang Qu (CMG Project Team), Lilac Waterscape Bar Transformed, 2025.; Photographer Xi Huang (CMG Project Team), Regeneration Hall (recycled construction waste), 2025.

Design Details

Unique Properties: This project renovates an abandoned hotel into a media center within a tight budget, marking a first for ultra-low-energy renovation in a frigid region. Drawing on the metaphor of media flowers blooming in a palace, two core shared spaces were designed: the Lilac Hall, featuring natural light and a water feature, and the Regeneration Hall, built with recycled construction waste. Dual atriums ensure indoor warmth and brightness while meeting the three-star green building standard and LEED Platinum requirements.
Inspiration: Inspired by the lilac of Harbin, this project focuses on the green renewal of abandoned buildings. It addresses the gap in ultra-low-energy renovation for regions with temperatures reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius. Driven by the demand for shared media spaces, it integrates local culture with eco-technologies. Through artificial intelligence computational design and same-source recycling of construction debris, the project reflects a vision of a green, tech-driven, and art-integrated media hub.
Research: This applied research explores AI-driven ultra-low-energy renovation for old buildings in frigid climates. Using deep learning and multi-objective optimization, the study balanced historical preservation with media function requirements. Tools including BIM and on-site sensors verified the results. The project achieved 25 percent lower energy consumption and natural light coverage for 92 percent of the building. This validates the application of computational design in urban renewal, supporting carbon goals and setting a benchmark for smart, green infrastructure in cold regions.
Challenge: The core challenge was realizing ultra-low-energy renovation of an old building in frigid Harbin, while balancing historical fabric preservation, media hub functional demands, and the implementation of AI-driven collaborative design. External Obstacles: Sparse technical data on the renewal of old buildings in cold regions, insufficient low-temperature resistance of recycled materials, and strict fire codes restricting structural modifications. Internal Conflicts: Bridging the gap between AI design and traditional construction practices, and reconciling public accessibility (for media lounges) with the need for closed office spaces.
Realization and Technology: AI computational design was used to optimize spatial curvature, and same-source recycling technology achieved resource reuse. Fifteen ultra-low-energy technologies were integrated, such as enhanced thermal insulation and passive daylighting. Building performance simulation verified a 25 percent reduction in energy consumption and an improvement in the useful daylight illuminance index. Modular assembly was adopted using recycled concrete, high-performance insulation panels, and eco-friendly coatings.
Operation and Interaction: The media hub is fully accessible to the public. Visitors enter the Lilac Hall for social gatherings, media displays, or community events. Natural light illuminates 92 percent of functional areas year-round, significantly reducing artificial lighting needs. The specialized insulation system maintains a comfortable indoor temperature of 20 to 24 degrees Celsius even when it is minus 30 degrees Celsius outside. Modular spaces can be rearranged into lecture halls or workstations using simple movable partitions.
Project Duration and Location: Duration: 2023~2025; Location: Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Specifications: Total area: 7,000 square meters
Keywords: Building renewal, Computational design, Media office building, Designer-AI collaborative design