The award-winning submissions in the“2019 Milan Design Week—Art and Design Exhibition of Chinese Colleges”were announced recently.Zheng Erie, Chu Shinzo and Qian Yuting, three students majoring in environmental design at Tianjin University’s School of Architecture won the first prize with their work themed Customized Street Life—the Modular Design of Public Space Landscape in the Business Street.
The competition, hosted by the China Association of Higher Education and the China Education Association for International Exchange,was carried out in 26 areas throughout the nation and received nearly 16,000 submissions from 450 colleges. Fifty-seven submissions won the Academy Award (the first prize), 107 Excellence Award (the second prize) and 217 Finalist Award (the third prize) in the student group.
Focusing on street revitalization, TJU’s submission offered a landscape reconstruction design for the Third Street in the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone. The designers conducted a site investigation and studied the development of civil neighborhoods at home and abroad. While striving to improve the neighborhood environment, the designs are mainly concerned with public transportation and creating a livable environment. Firstly, it ensures a smooth and appropriate transportation system and a pedestrian system. Secondly, from improving street landscape, ancillary urban furniture facilities, and public parks, the design intends to enhance the livability by providing more space for outdoor sports and ensuring neighborhood security. The desired end-effect is that people can share a sense of community and enjoy their life in the business street.
The design is innovative in that it presents the landscape structure and some public service facilities in modular forms. The module itself adapts to different functional requirements through simple operation, and the construction between modules will form a new public space. This design method can help shifting different spaces in the street and enable people to develop a sense of community.
The winning submissions were exhibited in April at Politecnic University of Milan during the 2019 Milan International Week.
By Liang Xiyue
Editors: Eva Yin & Doris Harrington
