A glimpse into the winning projects of the latest A' Design Award & Competition

The competitive nature of the architecture and design world is inevitable, with exceptional projects getting more recognition than others that deserve just as much.

The A' (A-Prime) Design Award & Competition not only wants to highlight great designs and products, but also to boost publicity opportunities for designers of all disciplines and experiences worldwide. Just recently, the annual program announced the winning projects for the 2013-2014 period.

Winners received extensive packages that include an award trophy, winner's certificates, and numerous PR and marketing options to help publicize their project to the world.

Below, we picked out a few of our favorites from the architecture and interiors categories.

School of Technology Higher Education Institution
by Nuno Montenegro

Project description: "The key feature of this building is the massive portico that floats over the school gardens. The result is achieved in one of the largest concrete structures in the world...

'Clashing ideals come together visibly in the building that Montenegro's designed­. The School of Technology owes its powerful exterior presence to clean lines and rigorous simplicity. The thick white walls and small windows fur­ther­more reflect the climate in the southern part of the country and recalls the rural vernacular. Inside, meanwhile, the obsessive whiteness continues, while idiosyncratic flourishes keep students on their toes.' CC Sullivan DM"

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The Ring House & Atelier
by MZ Architects

Project description: "The proposed building consists of a cylindrical volume embracing a rectangular one. The cylinder acts as a protective closed wall with a single narrow opening serving as the entrance, while the inside rectangle accommodates fluidly all the house functions necessary for the everyday life of the artist: a bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen and an atelier. The interior space interacts smoothly with the serene outdoor atrium, a large terrace garden with one symbolic tree and a circular water feature."

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Halle A by Designliga Workspace design
by Designliga

Project description: "Halle A is the studio of the Designliga design bureau and Form & Code, its strategic partner in Web and application development... Until its conversion, 10.4-metre-high hall was a metal-working shop for the Munich utilities company Stadtwerke München. The initial intention of preserving the character of the hall was carried out, and a studio was created which builds on the industrial atmosphere of the space and continues its external features throughout its interior..."

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Rising Moon Pavilion
by Daydreamers Design

Project description: "Rising Moon is a temporary pavilion designed to serve as an anchor attraction during the 2013 Hong Kong Mid-Autumn Festival. It re-interpret traditional paper lanterns with recycled plastic bottles on the same time creating a Synthetic Moon, thus promoting the message of environmental protection. Rising Moon offered strong visual impact with sound and lighting effects externally and internally. The design received the Gold Award at the Lantern Wonderland Design Competition."

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yoshi bar 2nd Provisional Bar
by Naoya Matsumoto

Project description: "systematically pieced together using six panels of reeds the yoshi bar by resembles a traditional gabled roof stall.The small shelter is held in place by the natural fibers which are grown in biwako shiga. the different panels are unable to stand alone but when placed next to each other they are supported to form the intimate enclosure. offering snatched glimpses through to its interior the sculptural piece has an enchanting quality to it. easily constructed over a couple of days the installation contains a bar where people can enjoy a relaxing and atmosphere and natural surroundings."

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Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island Architecture - Hotel
by Aedas

Project description: "Some of the most fulfilling designs are those embedded and contextualised in their local culture. It was the designer’s intent from the outset to reflect, in the architectural expression, the vibrant nature of Asia, Hong Kong and Wanchai. The shading device on the hotel façade resembles a dragon; the glass bottomed cantilevered pool is considered as a pearl often associated with dragons. The hotel design also provides legibility at both the City (macro) and Human (micro) scale."

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Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University Architecture - Education facility
by Aedas

Project description: "The university is located in Suzhou, where the famous Taihu stone is unearthed. The design of the Administration Information Building was inspired by the porous nature of the stone due to long time of erosion. The pores and holes are transformed into a void structure with functional spaces linking up different programmes of the building. The voids also allow the building to respond to the users and surrounding context and turn it into a vessel for interaction. The different heights of voids also create a three-dimensional Suzhou garden within the building."

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Nanfung Complex Commercial, Hospitality and Exhibition
by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas

Project description: "Located on the Pazhou island dedicated to exhibition related activities, the Nanfung Commercial, Hospitality and Exhibition Complex contains four distinct programmatic uses on two sites which are separated 160 meters from each other by another building. The unified structure of a vertical podium with a multi-storey horizontal blocks establishes and promotes a dialogue between the two buildings, leaping over the middle neighbour and creating a strong, unified architectural identity for the project."

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Randen Arashiyama Station Railway station
by GLAMOROUS co.,ltd.

Project description: "Kyoto Arashiyama is named after arashi (storm) from Mt. Atago which beautifully blows cherry blossoms and maple leaves. Randen Arashiyama Station is located in central of Arashiyama and in opposite of Tenryuji-temple which is registered on the World Heritage List. We have made a soft, cozy and elegant lighting forest in such a special station with approx. 600 poles rapped with Kyoto Yuzen kimono fabrics. This lighting forest is a part of hospitality for both locals and visitors so that they will feel excited with special time’s start from the station. "

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Screen House Eco Residential
by Renaissance Planners & Designers

Project description: "The existing house was dark and poor cross ventilation. Therefore we propose a new concept to have large windows, but at the same time filtering the heat from the sun. The stairs acts as an airwell with a skylight and ventilation vents.Thus improving the air circulation in the house keeping it constantly cool. The screen on the external facade not only acts as shade from the sun but also giving privacy for the user as the neighbouring houses are built closely to each other."

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Architecture Factory Cork Institute of Technology
by Marc O Riain & Neil Tobin

Project description: "The Architecture Factory is a third level education and learning space situated in a disused split-level warehouse. The brief was informed primarily by cost effective occupancy and the desire for studio pedagogy. The design avoided traditional subdivision of walls and ceilings; requiring sub divided servicing and expensive firewalls. 6 shipping containers function as lecturer's offices dividing the space it into open studios separated from a mezzanine by an open boulevard acting as an exploration-learning lab, an opportunistic exhibition space, and the main circulation. Creating a visually open connection between occupants to encourage interaction between peer groups...

Student-to-student learning is a natural consequence. The industrial heritage of the building strongly influenced how the scheme aesthetic maintained the genius loci. The use of containers reflects the manufacturing process. The white and grey provides an interior canvas carefully refined to minimize complexity. Color proportionality and density emphasizes the containers but is sensitively balanced not to perceptively dominate the space."

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Gamsei Cocktail Bar
by Buero Wagner / F. Wagner with A. Kreft

Project description: "Gamsei - a cocktailbar rethought When owner and head bartender Matthew Bax opened Gamsei 2013 in Munich's trendy neighbourhood Glockenbach, he introduced hyper-localism to a field of practice which had till then been mainly confined to the food scene...Bax, an Australian artist and founder of three bars, envisioned his fourth as an antidote to the globalization of cocktail bars; why drink the very same cocktail in every bar you go to in the world? Why not experience the excitement of the new when sipping a cocktail? The bar interior, designed by Fabian A. Wagner of Buero Wagner and Andreas Kreft, is a clear continuation of this philosophy – looking for new configurations whilst paying a tribute to the local Bavarian culture and craftsmanship."

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Malopolska Garden of Arts (MGA) Performing arts centre & mediatheque
by Ingarden & Ewý Architects

Project description: "The building of MGA introduced new spatial order to the old backyards and ruined buildings in Rajska and Szujskiego streets in Krakow. The starting point was a multifunctional hall, which was entered into the outline of the old, 19th-century horse-riding arena, used in the last years of its history as workshops and storage space for the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków. The Małopolska Garden of Arts is a cross between two institutions: the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre and the Malopolska Voivodeship Library...In this place, the cultural life of the Kraków’s young artistic set will blossom under a shared roof. Modern ballet, contemporary theatre forms, audio and video arts, concerts, and all and any other artistic pursuits will find their home here."

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Organic Cities New Cities
by Luca Curci

Project description: "Luca Curci architects studio has designed a landmark for the United Arab Emirates skyline with an innovative project based on the concept of "Organic Cities". The organic buildings become part of the new megalopolis, merging and mixing residential elements with business divisions, shopping life with wellness areas, cultural places with social life. The aim is to create a common place where people can live, meet, learn, work, socialize and create new mixing cultures."

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