Completion Date: 2005
Square Footage: 650,000

Awards:
Dedalo-Minosse International Prize, 2006

Design Excellence Award of Beijing, 2005

The Academy of Art and Design at Tsinghua University was initiated by the merger of two of China's most prestigious institutions, the Central Academy of Art & Design and Tsinghua University. It represents the culmination of the university's vision to integrate arts and sciences into a world-class institution.

The academy houses nine departments including art history, industrial design, environmental art, ceramic design, decorative art, textile & garment design, art & crafts, fine art and sculpture. Together with its grand entry plaza, the complex establishes a formal gateway to the university's east campus.

Transparency is key to integrating this "community of art" within the university. The glass atrium of the academy's sketch hall and studios face out onto the entry plaza creating a visual dialogue with the greater public and academic communities.

Interior spaces encourage interaction and dialogue among faculty and students. The daily process of art and design is prominently on display. Classrooms open out to the atrium and sculpture garden with the historic red gate preserved from the original Central Academy of Art & Design. Discussion salons located near professors' studios are "incubators" where new ideas and theories are refined and debated. Artists' districts and salons, studios, conference rooms, a sketch hall, multiple exhibit galleries, a reading lounge/library and 2-story sculpture studio provide collaborative forums for open exchange of ideas.