Emerging Talent Spotlight: Yi Cheng Chen’s Future Building Model

At the Future Art & Design Award 2025 Winter Season, Yi Cheng Chen received the Silver Prize in the category of Commercial Architecture / Space Design for the project Future Building Model. At just 16 years old, this marks Chen’s first-ever design competition—and an early milestone that signals both ambition and promise.

The award-winning work reflects a youthful yet thoughtful engagement with futuristic architecture, combining imaginative form-making with hands-on model construction. Inspired by contemporary visions of future cities, Chen’s project explores how rhythm, structure, and playfulness can coexist in architectural space. Despite technical challenges during the process, the project demonstrates perseverance, curiosity, and a growing sensitivity to form and meaning—qualities that align strongly with the Future Art & Design Award’s emphasis on emerging creative voices.

Q: Please give us a brief introduction about yourself and your creative background.

Yi Cheng: I'm 16 years old this year, and this is my first time participating in a design competition. I spent a lot of time preparing this piece, and I'm very happy to have won the silver award.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in creative / art / design?

Yi Cheng: Because my maternal grandfather was a professional painter, he greatly inspired me in art and design from a young age.

Q: Can you describe the creative process behind your work and what motivates you to create?

Yi Cheng: It all started when I saw many futuristic buildings online, which inspired me to create my own rhythmic and imaginative architectural models. Although I encountered many failures along the way, the thought of winning an award kept me going.

Q: What was the most exciting or challenging part of creating the work you submitted to the competition?

Yi Cheng: It must be when piecing the two buildings together that you need to disassemble a portion of one building and then piece the other one back together. That's what I found most challenging.

Q: How would you describe your creative style and the key characteristics that define your work?

Yi Cheng: I think my style is both structured and playful. You can see that from the lines in my work; every curve has its own meaning.

Q: What has been your experience participating in the competition? Were you satisfied with the process and results?

Yi Cheng: I was very excited to participate in this competition, and I was also very happy to win the silver medal.

Q: Where do you see the future of the art and design industry heading in the next 5–10 years?

Yi Cheng: I think the trend will be more towards a combination of creativity and technology. Technology is so advanced now that some things will be replaced by AI.

From early inspiration rooted in family influence to hands-on experimentation with architectural form, Yi Cheng Chen’s journey reflects the mindset of a new generation of designers—one that is unafraid to imagine boldly, learn through failure, and engage thoughtfully with the future of design and technology.