BEIJING.- OPEN's UCCA Dune Art Museum in Qinhuangdao, China, was awarded the 2019 AZ Awards Winner in the "Buildings Under 1,000 Square Metres" category, at the Awards Gala held in Toronto on June 21.

This year, the AZ Awards attracted 1,175 submissions from 50 countries. The judging panel comprised of 5 leading figures in the architectural and design fields including Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne. After two rounds of careful reviews and evaluations, 20 standout winners were selected, among which are many exceptional works by pre-eminent architectural studios, including Helsinki Central Library Oodi by ALA Architects, and 520 West 28th by Zaha Hadid Architects.

“The Dune Art Museum embodies a unique relationship between interior and exterior. The space speaks of the place, and the materiality coherently fosters the concept.” ——Stefano Pujatti, the jury member

Pure, simple and touching, the UCCA Dune Art Museum is a sanctuary for Nature and Art. Its design seeks a return to primal and timeless forms of space, and explores fresh possibilities for the experience of viewing art. Innovatively forming the space into a series of inter-connected, organic-shaped cells, and deliberately hiding the architecture under the sand dune in order to protect this fragile and critical natural component of the coast from the area’s encroaching real-estate developments, the Museum’s design is deeply committed to the site’s natural ecology and environment, and creates an engaging and non-traditional encounter with art and nature.

The UCCA Dune Art Museum has also been recognized as Iconic Awards Best of Best by German Design Council in 2017 for its concept design, and named 2019 Building of the Year by Archdaily.

Launched in 2011 by AZURE, a leading North American magazine focused on contemporary architecture and design, AZ Awards is an international competition ‘recognizing excellence and innovation, and showcasing the world’s best projects, products and ideas.’ It has grown in impact to become a significant international benchmark for design excellence.