Poly International Plaza has won two 2017 Architizer A+Awards, a program that recognizes outstanding design across more than 100 categories. The SOM-designed complex in Beijing won both the Jury Award and the Popular Choice Award in the category for Commercial – Office High-Rise (16+ Floors).
The Architizer A+Awards, now in its fifth year, is billed as the largest awards program that promotes and celebrates architecture and products from around the world. This year’s competition brought in submissions from more than 100 countries, with a jury winner and popular choice winner selected in each category. More than 400 jurors from diverse fields, including fashion, publishing, product design, real estate development, and technology, judged entries. The popular choice winner was selected through a public online vote. This year’s winners will be recognized at the Architizer A+Awards Gala in New York City on May 11th, 2017.
Poly International Plaza is a three-tower complex located in a new business district in Beijing. The design of the main tower is inspired by Chinese paper lanterns, with an exterior that forms a continuous diagrid pattern. The exoskeleton structural system forms an outer thermal envelope around the office spaces, which are enclosed within a second glazed interior envelope. This creates daylit communal areas that foster social interaction and establish connections between floors.
Selected from thousands of submissions, three SOM projects were also named finalists: Public Safety Answering Center II in the Government & Municipal Buildings category; 350 Mission in the Architecture+ Engineering category; and Chicago Public Library, Chinatown Branch in the Libraries category.
Additionally, two SOM projects received special mentions: the U.S. Air Force Academy – Center for Character and Leadership Development in the Higher Education & Research Facilities category, and the Elgin Laundry Building in the Unbuilt Sports & Recreation category.