Wang Xiangyu-led Team Wins Top Platinum Award at London Design Awards 2026

Date: June 20, 2026

A research and design team led by Professor Xiangyu Wang, Distinguished Inductee of the Engineering Division of the European Academy of Sciences, has claimed the highest honor — the Platinum Award — at the 2026 London Design Awards for its landmark work Concrete Reverie: An AI-Driven 3D Symphony.

Co-headed by Sun Junbo and Cai Chengzhi, the cross-institutional team brought together researchers and designers from multiple entities, including Jiangxi Communications Investment Group, Hangzhou Transport Planning and Design Institute, Sa-Math Design Studio and Western Sydney University. The collaborative creation integrates artificial intelligence technology with innovative concrete spatial design, delivering groundbreaking visual and structural aesthetics that impressed the international judging panel.

Hosted by DRIVENxDESIGN, the London Design Awards is widely recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious competitions covering architecture, interior and product design, often dubbed the “Oscars of global design.” This year’s competition received more than 2,800 submissions from over 45 countries and regions worldwide. Only less than 20% of all entries secured shortlist qualifications, while the Platinum Award — reserved exclusively for projects scoring 85 to 100 points with revolutionary originality — was granted to fewer than 3% of all participating works.

The competition’s rigorous judging panel consists of over 180 industry authorities across the globe, who evaluated each entry against four core criteria: design innovation, practical implementation value, cultural integration and spatial texture. The jury highly commended Professor Wang’s team for seamlessly merging digital construction technology with artistic expression, highlighting the project’s outstanding originality and strong engineering practicability.

This prestigious Platinum Award serves as authoritative global recognition of China’s independent innovation capabilities in the digital construction sector. The winning work will receive extensive exposure across international industry media and professional design communities, showcasing cutting-edge Chinese digital design achievements to a worldwide audience.

Professor Wang noted that this award represents a milestone for the joint research team. Moving forward, the group will continue to deepen interdisciplinary integration of AI and engineering design, striving to develop more feasible, creative digital construction solutions for global urban infrastructure development