Press Release
Xishun Tan Is Honored with the Golden A' Design Award for Myriad Circles Residential Housing in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Xishun Tan acknowledged 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 26, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Myriad Circles Residential Housing by Xishun Tan, designed for Vanke, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition 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 Golden A' Design Award Explained
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
More About Myriad Circles Residential Housing
Myriad Circles is a residential interior design completed in Sichuan, China. The layout is inspired by the Linpan settlements of Western Sichuan and their traditional Chuandou timber structures. Custom American walnut joinery reinterprets the interlocking and cantilever techniques of these structures. Concealed steel reinforcements inside the joinery support the weight of a collection of models. Stainless steel and glass are combined with the wood. Fixed walnut elements give the interior cultural depth, while flexible elements allow the space to serve changing uses.
About Xishun Tan
添谭 设计总监/创始人 他从事室内设计和软设计已有20多年。 擅长准确的客户定位分析，简洁的物品搭配，以及打破传统思维的空间表达技巧，力求在每个项目中实现非凡创造力
Award Record
This recognition makes Xishun Tan a winner of 6 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2023 - 2024 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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/180277
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180277
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180277
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/346386
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
- Myriad Circles Residential Housing
- Function
- Residential Housing
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Black, Saddle Brown, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray and Dark Olive Green
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Vanke
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Xishun Tan
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180277
Credits
- Team
- Design Director：FIONA LIU and Project Director：TIM TAN
- Image Credits
- Photographer：Kong studio
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Echoing the structural elegance of "Linpan" architecture in Western Sichuan, China, this design distills traditional "Chuandou" timber systems into a contemporary narrative. Custom walnut joinery abstracts ancient cantilever techniques, creating a sculptural framework for the client’s "Retro-Futurist" collection. The space bridges eras, merging the precision of heritage carpentry with the playful spirit of the digital age to form a deeply personalized, culturally anchored sanctuary.
- Inspiration
- A chance journey through Western Sichuan introduced me to the mesmerizing "Linpan" settlements. This experience deeply resonated with me, and by a stroke of serendipity, I was soon commissioned for this Chengdu residence. Inspired to bring this local spirit indoors, I reinterpreted the region's traditional "Chuandou" timber structures. The design translates these ancient interlocking techniques into modern walnut joinery, grounding the space in its cultural roots.
- Research
- This project is grounded in applied design research that decodes the vernacular "Linpan" settlements of Sichuan. We sought to translate their core principles of community, organic hierarchy, and material authenticity into a contemporary urban residence. Our methodology combined ethnographic field observation, spatial analysis of traditional "Chuandou" timber structures, and material prototyping. We engaged local craftsmen and used 3D scanning alongside digital and physical modeling to test modern interpretations of joinery. A key insight emerged: the "Chuandou" system functions as a "social scaffold," organizing life through a gradient of spaces from public to private.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge lay in reconciling the solemnity of vernacular "Linpan" architecture with the vibrancy of a "Retro-Futurist" toy collection. Visually, preventing this eclectic mix from appearing chaotic required rigorous curation to balance historical weight with pop-culture playfulness. Structurally, mimicking the lightweight aesthetic of traditional "Chuandou" cantilevers while supporting heavy die-cast models imposed engineering constraints, necessitating a concealed steel skeleton within the walnut joinery.
- Realization and Technology
- To resurrect the essence of traditional "Linpan" settlements, we utilized contemporary fabrication techniques. The design synthesizes American Walnut—a nod to vernacular timber—with modern industrial materials like stainless steel and glass. By embedding concealed steel reinforcements within the joinery, we achieved the iconic "Chuandou" interlocking aesthetic without traditional limitations. This application of modern material science allows the ancient architectural form to be reborn within a "Retro-Futurist" context.
- Operation and Interaction
- The space guides visitors on a narrative journey, from the symbolic "Tree of Light" entrance into the intimate, wood-clad "Study Box." Interaction is encouraged through integrated zones where children's play is visible to adults, fostering natural community connection. Its strength lies in a "permanent-temporary" framework: the fixed walnut architecture provides cultural depth, while flexible elements allow the space to transform from a sales gallery into an active community hub. This creates not just a functional space, but one that actively builds and sustains relationships.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in April 2024 in China and finished in August 2025 in Sichuan China.
- Keywords
- Retro-Futurism, Mid-Century Modern, Linpan Architecture, Residential Interior Design, Collector Workspace, Eclectic Luxury, Custom Joinery, Sichuan Vernacular, Chuandou Structure
