Press Release
Golden A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Goes to Mountain Impression Power Plant by United Units Architects
United Units Architects recognized for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Mountain Impression Power Plant by United Units Architects. The award was conferred within the 2022 - 2023 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Golden A' Design Award
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 Mountain Impression Power Plant
Backed by undulating karst mountains, this factory building draws its design language from the natural context. To the north of the site there is a bare plateau flattened by the mining of a cement factory. In order to respond to the nature and memory of the site, the facade of the building is featured by a pattern of undulating mountain range to visually remedy the damage to the mountains by human impacts, evoking the self-examination of human activities. The pattern of the mountain range is derived from the combination of four sets of trigonometric function curves through parametric design.
Award Record
This recognition makes United Units Architects a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2022 - 2023 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://desingers.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://desingers.org/145173
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/145173
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!145173
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/281949
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.u-u-a.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
- Mountain Impression Power Plant
- Function
- Power Plant
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Light Steel Blue, Black, Light Slate Gray, Dark Gray and Gainsboro
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- United Units Architects
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #145173
Credits
- Team
- Yongzheng Li, Qizhi Li, Falu Wang, Wenbo He, Yanfeng Lyu, Bing Zhao, Liang Deng, Xinghua Ma, Hongbo Fang, Yihao Zhang and Bo Yang
- Image Credits
- Photographer Lian He, Aerial View, 2022.; Photographer Lian He, View from Southeast, 2022.; Photographer Lian He, Landscape, 2022.; Photographer Lian He, View from Southwest, 2022.; Photographer Lian He, Facade Details, 2022. Video Credits: Archi-translator, 2022.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Backed by undulating karst mountains, this factory building draws its design language from the natural context. To the north of the site there is a bare plateau flattened by the mining of a cement factory. In order to respond to the nature and memory of the site, the facade of the building is featured by a pattern of undulating mountain range to visually remedy the damage to the mountains by human impacts, evoking the self-examination of human activities. The pattern of the mountain range is derived from the combination of four sets of trigonometric function curves through parametric design.
- Inspiration
- The site of the project prompts us to reflect on the interaction between human activities and the natural environment in a very inspiring way. We hope to take this opportunity to set a precedent for similar projects, through metaphorical and abstract extraction of natural and cultural characteristics to unite art and engineering, provide multiple interpretations, and redefine the public attributes and humanistic values of industrial buildings.
- Research
- Nanning is a frontier city for China's opening up and cooperation with ASEAN, and is known as China's Green City. The rich folk culture in the multi-ethnic inhabited area and the mountains in the karst landform area together constitute the resource of design language belonging to Nanning, and also become the spiritual contention between the people and the building. UUA hopes to build a waste-to-energy power plant that eliminates the Not In My Backyard effect and allows the public to accept and even love it, so that the advanced waste treatment technology can operate smoothly.
- Challenge
- The distinctive regional environment can often stimulate the bold ideas of architects, while large-scale infrastructure projects carrying social responsibilities usually require careful decision-making. Therefore, to achieve a balance between radical and conservative depends on an ingenious and effective design strategy. The design team realized the poetic design concept with rigorous engineering rationality, creating a state-of-the-art factory where art and engineering come together as one.
- Realization and Technology
- The pattern of the mountain range is derived from the combination of four sets of trigonometric function curves. The mathematic control not only ensures the smoothness of the curve, but also provides parameters for design development. By manipulating the colour, texture and form of the facade, the building is endowed with a dynamic aesthetic that changes with the viewing angle, light, and weather in an imperceptible and sophisticated way, reducing the impact of the building's vast volume on the environment.
- Operation and Interaction
- The garbage trucks enter the factory building along the ramp and unload to the enclosed garbage pit for fermentation. The fermented garbage is sent to the incinerator. The flue gas generated by the combustion of garbage is purified and discharged to the air; the fly ash is disposed of for landfill; the bottom ash can be comprehensively utilized. Finally the thermal energy generated by waste incineration is used to heat high-temperature steam to drive the steam turbine generator set to generate electricity, which is connected into the national grid.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in January 2020 and finished in August 2022 in Nanning, China.
- Specifications
- Gross Floor Area: 54,000 m2 Daily Waste Processing Capacity: 3,000 tons
- Keywords
- Waste to Energy, Power Plant, Carbon Neutrality, Parametric Design, Waste Treatment, Karst Mountains
