WuXi AppTec’s Nantong Facility Wins 2025 Architizer A+Award for Excellence in Human-Centered Industrial Design
WuXi AppTec, a globally recognized provider of research, development, and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, has proudly announced that its Nantong facility (Phase I) has been named the Popular Choice Winner in the “Factory & Warehouse” category of the prestigious 2025 Architizer A+Awards. This international recognition marks a significant milestone for WuXi AppTec, highlighting the company’s dedication to not only advancing science and technology but also to fostering innovative, human-centric work environments that support its mission of enabling global healthcare innovation.
An Architectural Achievement Blending Innovation and Humanity
Now in its 13th year, the Architizer A+Awards is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential platforms honoring excellence in architecture and design. The awards celebrate projects that push the boundaries of form and function, spotlighting structures that elevate the human experience while fulfilling complex operational needs. WuXi AppTec’s Nantong site emerged as a standout among thousands of submissions from over 80 countries, a testament to the facility’s pioneering vision of technological-humanistic symbiosis.
Located in Jiangsu Province, China, the Nantong site serves as a critical component of WuXi AppTec’s expansive Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) platform. The site offers integrated chemistry, biology, and analytical testing services to clients around the world, playing a vital role in accelerating drug development and manufacturing timelines. However, beyond its technical capabilities, it was the site’s architectural ingenuity that captured the attention of the Architizer jury and public voters alike.
Designed by a renowned architecture firm, the facility masterfully balances the needs of a high-performance R&D environment with an emphasis on employee well-being, sustainability, and community integration. The site comprises eight primary buildings, organized into two interconnected clusters that promote seamless collaboration across departments. The campus design is anchored by a Z-shaped laboratory and R&D office complex that forms a prominent urban frontage—serving as both a gateway to innovation and a symbolic link between science and the broader community.
A Living Manifestation of Technological-Humanistic Symbiosis
The award-winning Nantong campus embodies WuXi AppTec’s architectural philosophy of technological-humanistic symbiosis—a principle that seeks harmony between advanced infrastructure and the people who use it. Every aspect of the site’s design, from its spatial configuration to its material choices and environmental integration, reflects this ethos.
For instance, the layout fosters natural daylighting, open communication channels, and physical proximity among different research units. Landscaped courtyards, green spaces, and contemplative areas are woven throughout the campus, offering employees a restorative connection to nature. These features not only enhance comfort and productivity but also align with WuXi AppTec’s sustainability objectives.
Environmental consciousness is further evident in the facility’s energy-efficient systems, water conservation technologies, and waste management practices. These elements collectively reduce the site’s ecological footprint while creating a healthier and more inspiring workplace for scientists, engineers, and support teams.
A Broader Commitment to Sustainable and Inclusive Design
WuXi AppTec’s efforts in Nantong are part of a larger global strategy to incorporate sustainable development and human-centered principles across its entire network of facilities. The company operates a number of environmentally advanced sites around the world, each reflecting its core values of innovation, sustainability, and societal responsibility.
The Couvet site in Switzerland, for example, has been constructed to meet rigorous energy efficiency standards and is equipped with smart systems that reduce environmental impact. Similarly, WuXi AppTec’s Munich facility in Germany has achieved LEED Platinum certification—one of the highest global ratings for sustainable building practices—underscoring the company’s leadership in green infrastructure. These investments are not just about aesthetics or compliance; they reflect a long-term vision to create scientific spaces that are adaptable, resilient, and purpose-driven.
Empowering Talent and Accelerating Innovation
The design of WuXi AppTec’s facilities, including the Nantong site, also serves a strategic purpose: attracting and retaining top talent in a highly competitive scientific landscape. By providing workspaces that prioritize well-being, inclusivity, and creativity, the company fosters a culture of innovation that directly benefits its global client base.
This approach has proven particularly effective in Nantong, where the site’s open-plan laboratories, collaborative lounges, and cross-functional meeting areas support agile project execution and knowledge sharing. Employees are not only given the physical tools they need to succeed but are also surrounded by an environment that encourages continuous learning and mutual respect.
Moreover, the Nantong facility plays a vital role in supporting WuXi AppTec’s mission to shorten drug discovery and development cycles, ultimately bringing critical therapies to market faster. By integrating operational excellence with architectural brilliance, the site has become a blueprint for the future of industrial science campuses.
Vision for a Healthier Future
WuXi AppTec’s recognition at the 2025 Architizer A+Awards is more than just a design accolade; it symbolizes the company’s broader vision of a healthier world powered by innovation, collaboration, and compassion. As a trusted partner to pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies across the globe, WuXi AppTec remains committed to its founding belief that “every drug can be made and every disease can be treated.”
With facilities like the Nantong site setting new benchmarks in sustainable, human-centric design, the company is not only shaping the future of scientific infrastructure but also reinforcing its role as an enabler of transformative healthcare solutions. This honor from the Architizer A+Awards serves as a powerful affirmation that WuXi AppTec’s investments in people, places, and purpose are resonating on a global scale.
As the company continues to expand its capabilities and footprint worldwide, it remains steadfast in its pursuit of excellence—both in the medicines it helps create and in the environments where those breakthroughs begin. The Nantong site stands as a beacon of what’s possible when technology and humanity are brought together through visionary design.
