On September 18, the award ceremony of the 2023 ARCASIA Student Thesis (Graduation Design) Competition was held in Boracay, Philippines. Among the four finalists, the graduation design "LINE/VECTOR" (student: Zheng Qi; instructors: Zou Ying and Xin Shanchao) of Tianjin University’s School of Architecture was awarded the only gold award of the competition.

The ARCASIA Annual Dissertation (Graduation Design) Competition is an annual student competition organized by the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA), renowned for its rigorous selection process and highly prestigious awards. The Competition was first held among each ARCASIA member country. 

This year, the Architectural Institute of China received 36 entries from more than 20 domestic architectural colleges and universities. Then, a total of 14 experts, who are either chairmen from the subcommittee on architectural education or experts recommended by them have been selected as competition judges to review and select three winning works to the ARCASIA awards secretariat for a final competition. After a rigorous selection, one Gold Award, one Silver Award, one Bronze Award and one Nomination Award were given to the finalists, and Zheng Qi's entry "Line/Vector" from the School of Architecture of Tianjin University was awarded the Gold Award of the AIA Annual Dissertation (Graduation Design) Competition 2023.

“Line/Vector" is the "8+" graduation design work of architecture majors in China. The topic is located in Yanshen Ancient Town of Boshan District, Zibo City, which is the "Porcelain Capital of the North of the Yangtze River". It focuses on exploring a renewal strategy to revitalize this historical area where traditional residential houses coexist with industrial heritage, and constructing a place with profound historical and cultural background. . The design proceeds sequentially from the different scales of "City-Ancient Town-Architecture", abandoning the harmonious spatial dialogue formed solely by environmental texture, but rather adopting the logic of landscape narrative and linear design to complete a strong-narrative expression of spatial paths with a combination of f light and shadow, the collocation of materials, and the special shaping of the scale, to creates a ceramic showroom with a quiet atmosphere. The design organically integrates the regional nodes of Yan Shen Ancient Town, emphasizes the history and regional characteristics of the town, and connects the existing cultural resources of the site.

Winning Entry "Line/Vector"

Student: Zheng Qi

Instructor: Zou Ying, Xin Shanchao

By School of Architecture

Editors: Sun Xiaofang, Xie Qingyue