International Architecture Awards Tell a friend
ARCHIVE 2023
International Architecture Awards
Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC.
Lead Architect: Jill Lerner
Client: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Photographers: Zhang Chao
Associate Architects: SCAD (Architectural Design & Research Institute of South China University of Technology Co., Ltd.)
Associate Architect Lead: Jianhe Luo
General Contractor: China Railway Guangzhou Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
HKUST is an iconic, innovative campus that combines the university’s programmatic aspirations with the site’s natural beauty and urban context, all the while targeting carbon neutrality and zero water waste. The architects led the master plan as well as the design of the university’s major components, including the Academic and Research Hub, Administration Building, Athletic Village, Energy Plant, Library, North Faculty Housing, and University Activity Center. Located in Nansha, Guangzhou, the master plan accommodates more than 10,000 students, 800 faculty, 1,300 staff members, and a full range of university facilities: spaces for housing, teaching and research, athletics, performing arts, and amenities. These specialized facilities converge around a dynamic, central space to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and engender a strong community. HKUST Guangzhou provides an inspirational environment for students, faculty, and staff to live, work, and study, establishing a world-leading standard in higher education for future generations and campuses across China.
The campus features exemplary sustainability and resiliency measures, attuned to the site within the rapidly developing, coastal region of mainland China and an area of the world that will witness some of the greatest climate change impact. Three canals embrace the delta and enforce its “zero water waste” goal, collecting and filtering rainwater for reuse and promoting resiliency through flooding and wetland protection. Both the main outdoor collaboration areas and the buildings themselves incorporate a combination of active and passive thermal comfort strategies to guarantee the well-being and enjoyment of occupants within the humid micro-climate of the site. Within the canals’ borders, the campus is free of emissions, in which a smart electric mobility network supports all transportation of resources and people.
