Press Release
Xiaoyi Ma Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Collage of Melodies International School in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Xiaoyi Ma acknowledged for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Collage of Melodies International School by Xiaoyi Ma, designed for Inclusive Architectural Practice, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2020 - 2021 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.
About the Silver A' Design Award
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.
More About Collage of Melodies International School
Collage of Melodies is the expansion and renovation of an international school in Beijing. The project houses five learning communities, including an early learning community, an arts center, a library, a design center and a performing arts center. Each community is treated as a distinct space within the existing building framework. The expansion building curves across the site and is clad in natural wood-veneer resin panels and colored Trespa panels. The vertical sunshades reduce excessive sunlight and energy use. Their angles were arranged with software based on a piece of music.
About Xiaoyi Ma
Xiaoyi Ma is the founder and chief designer of Inclusive Architectural Practice (IAP), a graduate of Tsinghua University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a licensed architect in U.S. and a member of American Institute of Architects (AIA). Before founding IAP, Ms. Ma served as Partner and Managing Principle of KlingStubbins, a renowned architectural design company in U.S. (later as Jacobs). The design she led and participated in has been awarded by American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). As a designer and a mother of two children, Ms.
Award Record
Xiaoyi Ma 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
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/119278
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/119278
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!119278
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/301400
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.iapractice.com
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
- Collage of Melodies International School
- Function
- International School
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Peru, Light Blue, Sandy Brown, Black and Burly Wood
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Inclusive Architectural Practice
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Xiaoyi Ma
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #119278
Credits
- Team
- Jiajia Wang, Pengfei Chen, Yan Xia, Yang Ming, Xuejiao Zhou, Chaoyi Meng, Weihui Yan, Renzheng Zhu, Jing Wang, Xiaoang Li, Xuan Zhang and Haining Gu and others
- Image Credits
- Zhi Xia
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Collage of Melodies, a proactive architectural approach to expand and renovate the International School of Beijing, aims to motivate this leading K12 school to evolve to the cutting edge of learning environment. Enclosing variety of learning communities adaptable to student ages and learning programs, the expansion counterbalances and transforms the over-unified, solemn institution building to a versatile, dynamic education architecture with refreshing Collage of Art and Music Melodies.
- Inspiration
- As most project area is related to visual and performing arts, the design is inspired by image collage and musical melodies, complementing each other. Collage of Melodies treats each small learning community as an image independent and distinct from the overall school and fills it into the existing building framework, superseding it with diversified interior spaces, while the expansion building serpentines with highly consistent colorful and wood cladded envelop, producing a musical duet.
- Research
- The first international school established in Beijing, ISB is composed of 1,650 students from EY3 to G12 representing 50 countries. The existing building with over-unified spaces is unable to represent the diversity of students and learning programs that are critical to curriculum innovation. The designers, in collaboration with educators and administrators, have implemented a proactive architectural approach, Collage of Melodies, to transform it to the cutting edge of learning environment.
- Challenge
- The cooperation with ISB is very pleasant, with our experience and the full communication with educators, the design scheme can be in good agreement educators most of the time. The biggest challenge we meet is that the cost exceeds the standard while each team wants the perfect building space. We try to choose low-cost but high-quality materials to achieve the expected effect. How to achieve the maximum value of the actual building with low cost is the biggest challenge we meet.
- Realization and Technology
- The vertical sunshades of building enclosure are composed of natural wood-veneer resin panels and colorful Trespa panels to block out excessive sunlight and reduce energy consumption. The seemingly random angles of sunshades are compiled using software based on a piece of music, while the mixed colors are imagined as liquid paint dripping on the wood facade by a mischievous young child.
- Operation and Interaction
- The project consists of 5 learning communities including Early Learning Community, ES Arts Center, ES Library, MS/HS Design Center and MS/HS Performing Arts Center, each represented by different educators and students, with whom the design team worked closely to establish design strategies together. The collaboration was successful in methods of questionnaires, focus group discussion, design charette, and etc. The designer even worked with kindergarteners to observe their feedbacks.
- Project Duration and Location
- The International School of Beijing (ISB) is located in Shunyi District of Beijing, China. The design was commenced in May 2017 followed by construction, lasting for a total duration of nearly three and half years. In September 2020, ISB moved its students and faculties into the newly expanded and renovated facility.
- Specifications
- Site Area: 133,333 m2 Existing Building Area: 54,087 m2 Expansion Building Area: 11,079 Square m2 Architectural & Interior Design Area: 16636 m2 Building Height: 24 m School including: Early Year 3 through Grade 12
- Keywords
- K12, Education, International School of Beijing, Renovation, Collage, Musical
