The winners of the 2021 UIA-HYP Cup International Student Competition have been announced

The results of the 2021 UIA-HYP Cup International Student Competition have been unveiled. In its 10th edition, it is presented by the organizers as the only student architecture competition in mainland China. 

The contest is hosted by the School of Architecture at Tianjin University and Urban Environment Design (UED) Magazine and based on a central theme of “Architecture in Transformation.” This concept explores the tensions between architecture and the city as well as between architecture and nature in an increasingly interconnected contemporary world.

This year’s competition was chaired by Rem Koolhaas, who selected the topic “Countryside Dilemmas: New Rural Planning.” As detailed in the competition’s brief, “Using the destructive fire in the ancient Chinese village of Wongding as a catalyst, Rem Koolhaas asked students to think deeply about rural development, its benefits and costs, which are thrown into high relief by the larger global challenges of preservation and growing migration crises.”

Koolhaas was joined by architect and academician Cui Kai, who served as the UIA Representative on the jury. 

In total, 34 projects were recognized, including one First Prize, three Second Prizes, eight Third Prizes, and 22 Honorable Mentions. The First Prize was awarded to Zhao Chenchen, Ma Qirui, and Zheng Qi from the School of Architecture, Tianjin University for their project, “Civilization to the Years”. 

As per the competition’s press announcement, “Jury chair Rem Koolhaas admired the student winners’ idea of combining the rehabilitation of the countryside with the reinvention of education, which the students 'explored in a creative and sensitive manner.'”

The three Second Prize winners are as follows:

“New Life of Dilemma” by Wu Chang, Wang Fengyin, Yang Yike, and Cheng Tieyan with teachers Wen Jiaxin and Wang Ziyan from the Guangdong University of Technology, Shenyan Jianzhu University, and Nanjing Institute of Technology

“Rural Olympic Games Planning Manual 2048” by Shen Shenge, Luo Ziyu, Li Tong, and Ji Weijie with instructors Tan Lifeng and Yuan Sinan from Tianjin University and South China University of Technology.

“Planting Topia” by Guo Yuying, Zhao Yunan, Wu Wenan, and Yuan Jingwen with instructors Jin Yuan and Wen Jiaxin from Central South University, Beijing University of Technology, College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, and the Nanjing University of Technology

Further information on the 2021 UIA-HYP Cup International Student Competition and its winning submissions can be found here.