Credit: Ti Gong
Caption: John Thackara, a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom, won the Distinguish Contribution Award.

A British design thinker and a Shanghai middle school student received top honors during the ongoing World Design Cities Conference (WDCC).

The awards were unveiled as part of the Frontier Design Prize (FDP) – the conference's flagship accolade. John Thackara, a Senior Fellow at the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom, claimed the Distinguish Contribution Award, while Zhao Yunyang, a student at Shanghai's Tianlin No. 3 Middle School, took home the Innovation of the Year (K12) Award.

Thackara, 74, has spent decades bridging human activity with ecological systems. His career includes pioneering projects such as Dott 07 and City Eco Lab, which piloted sustainable concepts in real-world communities. Now, he is working on Design Harvests 3.0, an urban-rural interaction project in Chedun Town, Songjiang District, Shanghai.

Thackara, whose first book translated into Chinese hit shelves in 1995, said his work resonates with this year's WDCC theme: "Design Boosts Flourishing."

Credit: Ti Gong
Caption: John Thackara and Zhao Yunyang, a student at Tianlin No. 3 Middle School, receive the awards at the WDCC.

Delivering his acceptance speech, Thackara highlighted Shanghai as a city that blends social and ecological design in a way that can serve as an inspiration to the global community.

Currently, he holds visiting professorships at three institutions: Tongji University, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, and Italy's Politecnico di Milano.

The other winner Zhao developed an early warning system to prevent electric bike fires. The device integrates Beidou satellite positioning, infrared sensors, flame detection, and wireless communication technology to monitor fire risks and trigger alerts.

The design also includes cultural symbols. Zhao drew inspiration from the dragon, seen in Chinese tradition as a water deity, and the dragon-turtle, a symbol of protection.

Judges praised the project for its "powerful fusion of technology and cultural significance."

The two winners, separated by nearly six decades in age, will join a public dialogue on Sunday at the "Design Universe" Annual Creative Camp 2025. They will discuss the role of design in shaping the future.

Credit: Ti Gong
Caption: The early warning system for electric bike fires designed by Zhao