The KPF Principal recently sat down with the publication to discuss Huamu Lot 10 – The Summit after the project won Architecture MasterPrize’s 2025 Best of Best in the High-Rise Buildings category late last year.
Huamu Lot 10 – The Summit began with an ambitious brief: Design a wholistic destination combining commercial and cultural spaces on a neglected waterfront site. Jeff recalls approaching the project as an effort of urban remediation rather than a mixed-use development composed of individual buildings. The design instead challenges conventional tower typology with large, cantilevered sky galleries at mid-height that connect the commercial and cultural uses of the property while giving the cluster an immediately recognizable form.
Huamu Lot 10 – The Summit hosts public spaces with the museum and public plaza at its base, and galleries at mid-height rather than at the crown. This integrated mixed-use, and mixed-user experience subverts expectations and redefines vertical urbanism in Shanghai. When asked which outcomes he takes the most pride in, Jeff answered, “What was once an underutilized riverfront site is now an active civic space. The plaza, museum connection, and permeability of the development have created a lively public environment, and seeing people genuinely use and inhabit those spaces is incredibly rewarding.”
In the interview, Jeff discussed his sources of inspiration, his design process, the project’s greatest challenges, its most innovative features, and what receiving the Best of the Best award means to him and KPF. Reflecting on the recognition, Jeff said, “More than anything, it motivates us to continue pushing forward, designing projects that are ambitious, responsible, and genuinely contribute to the life of the city.”
