Jonathan Leijonhufvud/Photography by Jonathan Leijonhu
Shanghai-based firm Linehouse built this shared office space in a former opium factory in collaboration with WeWork.
Jonathan Leijonhufvud/Photography by Jonathan Leijonhu
The space covers almost 60,000 square feet.
Half and Half Studio
Multi-disciplinary design company Half and Half Studio was one of five Hong Kong companies featured in this year's shortlist.
anySCALE Architecture Design Consultants
Shanghai-based firms have traditionally done well at the annual competition.
anySCALE Architecture Design Consultants
In 2011, all four of China's nominations hailed from the city.
Maos Design
Over a third of the 78 finalists are based in Greater China.
Office AIO
This 366-square-foot coffee shop and guesthouse is found in Beijing's narrow 'hutong' alleyways.
Minggu Design
Set across three stories, Bamboo's Eatery was one of five finalists from Greater China in the Bars & Restaurants category.
anySCALE Architecture Design Consultants
Found in Beijing's upmarket Sanlitun district, Polyphony sells a range of comics and records. The minimalist space houses listening booths and comic displays.
Beijing Fenghemuchen Space Design
Baoding, in industrial Hebei province, was once named China's most polluted city. Come November, the city may boast a more coveted title -- a World Interior of the Year award.
WJ Design
The only project in the residential category from mainland China, MISA studio is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
PAL Design Group
Chinese designers were not the only big winners, with Australian companies racking up 12 nominations.
Wanda Hotel Design Institute
Lesser known Chinese cities like Hefei are traditionally overlooked by international design and architecture awards. But this year, Hefei was one of a number of Chinese cities to feature among the finalists of the World Interior of the Year awards.
Shenzhen Yi Ding Design
As well as commercial spaces -- like this restaurant in Shanghai -- the World Interior of the Year gives awards to residential and public spaces.
J.C.Architecture
There were four nominations from Taiwan in the shortlist for this year's World Interior of the Year.
WUtopia Lab
Featured in the Civic, Culture & Transport category, this is one of two nominations for Shanghai-based WUtopia Lab.
WUtopia Lab
This Shanghai children's center appears in the Health & Education category.
BVN
The winners of each category -- as well as the overall winner -- will be announced at the Inside World Festival of Interiors in Berlin this November.
AHMM
Now in its seventh year, the World Interior of the Year awards bring together the best designed hotels, restaurants, offices and retail spaces.
Architects EAT
The finalists will face the judges at the Inside World Festival of Interiors, a sister event of the World Architecture Festival.
CNN  — 

The World Interior of the Year shortlist has been announced, bringing together 2017’s best designed hotels, restaurants, offices and retail spaces.

But while the nominees hail from around the globe, there is one clear winner: China.

More than a third of the 78 finalists are based in Greater China, including 19 from the mainland, five from Hong Kong and four from Taiwan.

Among the nominees are a co-working space in Shanghai, a minimalist Beijing comic store and a sleek Japanese restaurant in the southern city of Shenzhen. At least one Chinese interior was shortlisted in each of the award program’s nine categories, which encompass residential, commercial and public spaces.

Jonathan Leijonhufvud/Photography by Jonathan Leijonhu
Wework Weihai Road by Linehouse (Shanghai)

Changing attitudes toward design

At the time of the inaugural World Interior of the Year awards in 2011, fewer than 10 percent of the finalists came from China. And all of those projects were based in Shanghai.

Fast-forward six years, and cities less familiar to the international design circuit – like Hefei and Baoding – now appear on the shortlist.

Wanda Hotel Design Institute
CHA Chinese Restaurant at Wanda Vista Hefei by Wanda Hotel Design Institute (Hefei)

Half of the nominated projects in this year’s Bars and Restaurants category can be found in Greater China. Among them is Big Small, a 366-square-foot coffee shop and guesthouse designed by the Beijing-based firm Office AIO.

According to the company’s co-founder, Tim Kwan, the shortlist reflects changing attitudes toward design in China.

“We noticed the drastic changes happening in the architectural and design landscape around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” said Kwan, who co-founded Office AIO in 2012. “And we wanted to get ourselves involved in these opportunities.

How two architects are transforming Chinese villages

“The market is becoming more sensitive to the idea and values of ‘design’ – both the clients and the public are now seeking innovation and uniqueness.”

China’s growing prominence at the awards is partly the result of organizers’ efforts to reach more corners of the world.

But it also reflects the changing interiors market, according to Paul Finch, program director at Inside World Festival of Interiors.

“The Chinese architectural community is on a bit of a roll at the moment,” he said over the phone. “When we started, entries from China were more likely to come from international practices that happened to have been commissioned to do buildings in Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen.

world architecture festival
This building by Amanda Levete and Associates is located on the Tagus River, and is a multi-purpose facility designed in such a way that visitors can walk over, under and within the building itself.
world architecture festival
This proposed footbridge uses mirrors to "open a new virtual dimension." The design would be located on a site near the East Side Gallery in Berlin, where two bridges have already been built and destroyed.
world architecture festival
Conceived as a solution to shelters housing growing numbers of refugees, Shelter on the Edge in Aleppo, Syria, is designed to allow for new units to be added onto existing housing units when the need arises.
world architecture festival
This chapel is located within a hospital in Pambujan, a small rural town in the Philippines. The chapel features stained glass in the entry as well as the back of the alter.
world architecture festival
This ferry terminal in Salerno, Italy, features multiple levels, with visitors entering on the ground level, and moving up through internal ramps to the upper levels where they can board and disembark the ferry.

Swipe through the gallery for some of the other buildings to make this year's World Architecture Festival shortlist.
world architecture festival
This pharmacy in Himeji City, Japan, features a minimalist white interior with black accents. The architects hope that the interior will convey a sense of "advanced medical care" that patients would expect.
world architecture festival
Designed as a treatment residence for indigenous people suffering from renal disease, the Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel in Fitzroy Crossing, Australia, allows patients to receive treatment while still being close to their family members and the community. The space features six small houses, and can accommodate a total of 19 people.
world architecture festival
Initially revealed as part of the 2016 London Design Festival, The Smile is constructed using American tulipwood, a material said to be stronger than concrete.
world architecture festival
The Zhuhai Opera House in Zhuhai, China, is built of two shell-like structures, the larger of which sits at 90 meters (295 feet) tall, and the smaller at 60 meters (197 feet) tall. Collectively, both buildings can seat over 2,000 people.
world architecture festival
The Binh House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, features several spaces -- from the roof to the balconies -- for trees and plants. The architects hope that this will increase the presence of green spaces in cities.
world architecture festival
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates were tasked with renovating the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. One of the renovations included a steel "wrap" around the building's existing framework.
world architecture festival
This Sao Paulo, Brazil, home is built with a triangular floor plan, and maximizes natural light through the use of a skylight and printed glass brise-soleils.
world architecture festival
Conceived as a solution to rising housing prices in major cities, BIG's Urban Rigger is built with re-purposed shipping containers. It is the first floating, carbon neutral housing made from shipping containers.
world architecture festival
Designed by the Thai Landscape Architecture firm PLandscape, the Garden of the Mind is inspired by the country's culture and landscapes.
world architecture festival
Printemps is a Parisian department store that was originally built in 1865. This redesign introduces an atrium to the complex that allows visitors to see multiple levels.
world architecture festival
This hotel's exterior is made using locally-sourced sandstone. Plants help to improve ventilation and provide shade to the building's interior.
world architecture festival
At 162 meters (531 feet) tall this is the tallest moving observation tower in the world. The glass observation pod can hold 200 people and features 360 degree views of Brighton and surrounding areas.
world architecture festival
This chapel in Suzhou, China features a perforated metal facade, and uses multiple windows throughout the space to best utilize natural light.

“But that’s starting to change. The number of (local) Chinese practices has increased (and) Chinese architects are starting to find their own voice. On one hand, you have Chinese practices doing big shopping centers and commercial buildings like any commercial architect anywhere around the world,” he said.

“On the other you have people like (Pritzker Architecture Prize-winner) Wang Shu saying that there’s an indiginous Chinese architectural language waiting to come out, that’s not a replica of historical styles but certainly owes quite a lot to them.”

A festival of interiors

This year’s shortlist continues a recent run of form for China-based designers in this competition. Last year’s overall winner was AN Design’s futuristic retail space in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

PAL Design Group
NUBO by PAL Design Group (Sydney)

But Chinese designers were not the only big winners. Australian companies racked up 12 nominations, including four for SJB – the most for a single firm in this year’s awards.

The competition winners will be decided this November in Berlin, where finalists will present their work at the Inside World Festival of Interiors. The three-day gathering is a sister event of the World Architecture Festival, which recently announced its 2017 shortlist for World Building of the Year.