Recently, the winner of the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize was announced, and Chinese architect Liu Jiakun has been awarded this prestigious honor.

Liu Jiakun’s work for the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize

Liu Jiakun’s design for the Grand Canal Hangang Park, themed “architecture that brings communities together,” is based on the former Zhejiang Province’s first steel plant, which was built in 1957. The project introduces contemporary landscaping systems, with new buildings nestled around the preserved structures. The design features rust-colored concrete as the primary material, integrating it with the preserved buildings in a harmonious manner. The goal is to create a model for the revitalization of industrial heritage, an art and cultural center, and a cultural gathering place for citizens.

CSCEC embraces the repairing as-it-was concept, using the original-colored exposed concrete for new building sections, and preserving several plane trees from the original site. The design aims to create an enclosed garden-like marketplace, contributing to the development of a post-industrial ecological park. The main corridors are constructed with rust-colored exposed concrete, and smaller industrial preserved elements are incorporated into the landscape design to continue the historical and cultural legacy of the industrial site.

The Pritzker Prize, also known as the Pritzker Architecture Prize, was established in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy Pritzker, and is sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation. Often referred to as “architecture's Nobel,” it is the highest international honor in architectural design.