Winner: Mixed-use of the year 2024. GN Architects has designed Flying Carpet, a parent-child activity centre in Ado Town, Qingdao, China.

Ado Town is a mountain town far away from the city; the client hopes to build a parent-child centre to enrich the supporting facilities and attract new residents.

This project arranges various functional bodies in an organic mode, and the gaps between them form public spaces. These functions can be independently exposed to the outside world and can also be organised through the lobby.

"We designed a rolled-up roof, under which are four independent functional bodies: a multi-functional hall, a cinema, stairs, and a cafe," said GN Architects.

The parent-child centre in the mountains and forests aims to improve the quality of public life for the surrounding rural residents and also attract tourists and visitors.

"After the project was completed, we were very pleased to see that the birth of a building has brought improvements to the community ecology, the lives of surrounding residents, and the experience of tourists, and even promoted the vitality of the regional economy," added GN Architects.

Studio: GN Architects
Project: Flying Carpet
Credits: Sunac Beijing, Aspect Studios and PurilightingDesign