Shanghai buildings win Hudec Architectural Culture Award

Jinmao Tower is an integral part of the Pudong skyline in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

Two landmark buildings in Shanghai, the Jinmao Tower and the Poly Grand Theater, won the Hudec Architectural Culture Award on Oct 27.

The award, named after Laszlo Hudec (1893-1958), a well-known Hungarian-Slovak architect, commemorates this great architect and also shows the inclusiveness of Chinese culture, said Liu Suhua, director of the Hudec Culture Development Center.

Hudec was active in Shanghai from 1918 to 1945 and was responsible for some of the city's notable structures such as Wukang Mansion, Park Hotel, and Moore Memorial Church.

To some extent, he was an envoy of Sino-foreign culture exchanges, as his work reflected a combination of Chinese elements and foreign architectural styles.

The award is given based on the evaluation of a building's social and cultural, historical, sci-tech, artistic, and economic values, according to Liu.

Jinmao Tower, an integral part of Shanghai's Pudong skyline, resembles the shape of a Chinese pagoda, a traditional Chinese element.

Its lobby displays the long history of Chinese calligraphy from inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) and inscriptions on ancient bronze objects to the evolution of seal characters (Zhuanshu, 篆书), official script (Lishu, 隶书), regular script (Kaishu, 楷书), and cursive script (Caoshu, 草书).

The design team was composed of members of the American architectural firm SOM and the Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design and Research of Arcplus Group, with Adrian Smith, whose representative work is the Burj Khalifa Tower, the world's tallest building, as chief designer.

The Poly Grand Theater, located in the city's Jiading district, opened in 2014. It is one of the best theaters in Shanghai and is able to satisfy the needs of various performances such as dance dramas, operas, plays and symphony concerts.

Its designer was Tadao Ando, a Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize winner, whose work is known for the creative use of natural light and for structures that follow natural forms of the landscape.   

The Shanghai Poly Grand Theater in Jiading district. [Photo/VCG]