On April 18, the national stage of the 2024 Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest concluded at the APAC Regional Office. Eight participating teams from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University presented their designs addressing the challenges set in the contest task. The jury panel consisted of two notable architects and four Saint-Gobain experts: Yuyang Liu, Founder & Principal of Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects, Sun Kailun, Founding Partner of FLIP Design Studio, Alain Zanoli, Vice President of Innovation, Shuang Liu, Director of Marketing for Construction Products APAC, SGRS Portfolio Director, Zhe Gao, R&D Manager & Scientist of Gypsum, and Romain Decourcelle, Manager of Computation and Instrumentation Technologies. They evaluated the proposals based on two criteria, i.e., architectural design and sustainable construction.

Guided by the purpose “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”, Saint-Gobain hosts the architecture students contest worldwide to encourage the young generation to design and develop sustainable, energy-efficient, low-carbon, and comfortable living, working and leisure environments.

The students incorporated the concept of sustainable construction and Saint-Gobain’s materials in their designs, considering global factors such as climate conditions, ecological environment and local cultures. They proposed unique architectural designs that highlight building performance and sustainability. After each team's presentation, the juries probed deeper into the proposals, offering constructive feedback for further improvements. Through the contest, the participants not only sharpened their professional skills but also broadened their horizons and gained a deeper understanding of the development trends of sustainable construction. We believed that all students have gained knowledge through this contest, and will apply what they have learned in their future studies and work.

The winning team of the national stage will represent China in the global competition to be held in June in Helsinki, Finland. Let's look forward to their outstanding performance and bring a trophy back to China after the contest.