Aedas’ Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Administration Information Building in Suzhou, China, being the Best Public/Community Building in Greater China, also topped other category winners to receive the Grand Prize at this year’s SCMP Chivas 18 Architecture and Design Awards; while Nanfung Commercial, Hospitality and Exhibition Complex in Guangzhou, China and THR350 in Hong Kong were named Best Commercial & Mixed-use Building in Greater China and Best Residential Building in Hong Kong respectively.  
 
Located in the new Xi’An Jiaotong-Liverpool University campus in Suzhou, the Administration Information Building is designed by Andy Wen, Global Board Director of Aedas. It is the main administrative building of the university and gives a modern interpretation of the famous Taihu stones which are always found in Suzhou gardens. The limestones, eroded over time by wind and water, have a porous nature which is reflected architecturally by voids and spaces inside the building to facilitate interactions and allow a series of sustainable design features. The building hosts an Administration Center, a Learning and Resource Center, a Training Center and a Student Activities and Service Center.
 
Designed by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas, Nanfung Commercial, Hospitality and Exhibition Complex is a mixed-use development occupying two separated sites. It contains four distinct programmatic uses including office, retail, hotel and exhibition. The horizontal elements of the towers were accentuated through small shifts in the north/south direction and large shifts in the east/west direction to animate and maximise the dialogue between the two buildings, while providing a dynamic, unified and powerful expression of this exhibition complex.
 
THR350 is a nine-storey private residence designed by Ken Wai, Global Board Director of Aedas. Located at a hillside on Hong Kong Island, its design was inspired by an early image of the city which shows a waterfall pouring down from a cliff and visually dividing the rock surface into two portions. The planning of the building is governed by a 1.5-metre grid. This is rigidly followed through on the façade to resemble the sturdy rock face; but punctuated by a sculptural staircase that reflects the freeform of water and was further reinterpreted as three stacking ice cubes.
 
SCMP Chivas 18 Architecture and Design Awards is organised to commemorate the unique ingenuity of blending art and science to produce architectural masterpieces. This year’s awards theme is ‘The Art of Blending: Nature and Architecture’.