The Grand Canal Hangzhou Steelworks Park designed by Liu Jiakun
By Jin Yingying
On Mar 4, the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the world’s highest honor in architecture, was officially awarded to Liu Jiakun.
The 2025 jury citation states that “Liu Jiakun takes present realities and handles them to the point of offering sometimes a whole new scenario of daily life. Beyond knowledge and techniques, common sense and wisdom are the most powerful tools he adds to the designer’s toolbox.”
Liu designs public spaces in densely populated cities where the luxury of space is largely absent, forging a positive relationship between density and open space, according to the official website of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
The Grand Canal Hangzhou Steelworks Park, one of Liu’s representative works, is located in Hangzhou.
In 2015, after nearly 60 years of operation, the production lines at Hangzhou Iron & Steel Group’s Banshan production base were closed. Liu’s architectural firm, in collaboration with Zhejiang University Design Institute and TLS Landscape Design, undertook a conservation and transformation project for the site.
The park, located at the western foot of Banshan Mountain in Hangzhou’s Gongshu district, is a key project within the Grand Canal National Cultural Park. It spans about 55 hectares, with a total building area of approximately 500,000 square meters. The site preserves iconic industrial relics, including blast furnaces, coke ovens, and silos.
Through thoughtful and scientific renovations, the site has been repurposed with new functions, gradually transitioning from an industrial production site to a space that blends urban industrial culture with ecological development.
“It will serve as a model for the transformation of industrial heritage, an arts and culture center, and a hub for human activities. It will also be a popular destination for both locals and tourists, offering a space for living and sightseeing,” Liu said.