Steven Holl Architects has received “Good Design Is Good Business” Awards for Linked Hybrid in Beijing and the Horizontal Skyscraper/Vanke Center in Shenzhen.
The awards, administered by Architectural Record and McGraw-Hill Construction, recognize a total of 17 projects in six categories.
Linked Hybrid, completed in 2009, won a Best Residential Project Award for “breaking with the usual developer formula of gated communities.” The Jury stated, “this complex of apartment towers, hotel, and multiplex cinema invites the entire city to enjoy its public spaces both indoors and out.” In late 2009, the project was named Best Tall Building Overall by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
The Horizontal Skyscraper/Vanke Center in Shenzhen was named “Best Green Project.” The Jury celebrated its “sustainable design and construction.” The building and the landscape integrate several new sustainable aspects: a microclimate is created by cooling ponds fed by a grey water system; the building has a green roof with solar panels; it is a tsunami-proof hovering architecture that creates a porous micro-climate of public open landscape. The Horizontal Skyscraper is also one of the first LEED platinum rated buildings in Southern China.
The winning projects will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony on March 12, at the Forum of Shanghai World Financial Center, when one Grand Winner for each category, one Project of the Year, and one Best Client will also be announced.