Thriving Renovation and Gate by Shimu Wang Is Granted the A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design

Shimu Wang honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 18, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Thriving Renovation and Gate by Shimu Wang has been granted the A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The A' Design Award Explained

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.

Regarding Thriving Renovation and Gate

Thriving is a facade renovation of two teaching buildings and a new school gate in Taiyuan, China. Aluminum panels finished with bright paint add rhythm to the elevations and conceal outdoor equipment and cables. The gate stands 14.7 meters high and connects the two buildings of different heights, framing the view of the main campus building. Mirror stainless steel panels clad the main steel structure, while slender columns of stainless steel pipe with silver paint reduce the visual mass. The mirrored soffit makes the gate appear taller and suggests growth.

About Shimu Wang

Shimu Wang is a young individual architect who is good at creating elegant space with light, materials and colours. The designs she did always tightly related to the theme and established vivid spaces that fit company images. Shimu works more on small-scale cultural constructions facing to public which attract people to have a trip to the places where may not be well noted, and bring cultural resources to the rural areas at the same time. Education equality is a major detection she attempts to improve.

Award Record

Shimu Wang is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2025 - 2026 editions 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. It 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. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is 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. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously 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. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which 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, uploading a work and receiving a 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. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/183058
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183058
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183058
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/282073

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Thriving Renovation and Gate
Function: Renovation and Gate
Category: Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture
Colors: Cornflower Blue, Dark Slate Blue, Maroon, Dim Gray and Saddle Brown
Images: 5

The Recognition

Laureate: Shimu Wang
Country: China
Recognition: A' Design Award
Edition: 2025 - 2026
Design ID: #183058

Credits

Image Credits: Image #1, #2, #3, #4, #5: Photographer Weiqi Jin, Thriving, 2025.

Design Details

Unique Properties: Aluminum panels finished with bright-colored paint are used for facade detailing, which enhance the rhythm of the elevation and conceal the messy equipment and cables at the same time. Besides, the gate organically connects the two buildings of different heights. This gate also becomes a view frame for the main campus building. Design adopts the imagery of 'growth', conveying the wish that students will take root and thrive in their future careers , just like seeds reaching for the sky.
Inspiration: This project contains a facade renovation of two teaching buildings over twenty years old and a construction of a new gate. The buildings front the street and the gate stands between them. The client expected to transform their outdated appearance into vibrant, neat and energetic style. The new school gate should be majestic and futuristic. To meet these requirements, the design revolves around bright colors and a lightweight, airy visual effect.
Research: This renovation was required to be restrained and frugal. We spent a huge amount of effort to organically unify the individual buildings and use harmonious with variations design language to create visual consistency.
Challenge: One of the key challenges in the design process was sorting out and rearranging the layout of outdoor equipment. The design had to comprehensively consider the locations of equipment-connected interior rooms, the dimensions of different equipment, drainage routes, and cable positions, lending the building a rhythmic, orderly, and harmonious facade.
Realization and Technology: Standing at 14.7 meters high, the gate was required to be majestic yet airy. To ensure the gate is visually lightweight, mirror stainless steel panels are chose to clad the main steel structure. The decorative, slender columns surrounding the main steel structure are made of stainless steel pipes finished with silver fluorocarbon paint, further dissolving the visual mass of structure. The mirrored soffit makes the gate appear taller when viewed from below, enhancing the dynamic sense of growth.
Operation and Interaction: The automatic doors are installed between the main structural columns and the decorative columns. When opened, they are well concealed within the forest of columns, and when closed, they match the decorative columns well in color. Landscaping at the foot of the slender columns, adds a touch of vitality to the otherwise slightly cold structure. As pedestrians and vehicles traverse the gateway, the experience evokes the sensation of passing through a miniature forest.
Project Duration and Location: Design Period: April to June, 2025 Finished time: October 2025 Location: Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
Specifications: Renovated Facade Area: 9581 square meters. The New Gate: Width 22m x Depth 9.8m x Height 14.7m.
Keywords: Modest renovation, Coherence, Rhythm, Vibrant colors, Lightness, Airy, Futuristic aesthetic