Founded by architect Chengshou Pan in 2020, POA Architects has offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The practice works across public buildings, community and residential spaces, sports facilities, urban regeneration, industrial parks and infrastructure.

Freedom with Belonging is the central idea of POA’s practice. It explores how architecture can connect people with their surroundings and support shared life while respecting individual autonomy and choice. We believe that true belonging should make it easier to be oneself.

Each project begins with its particular site, programme and users. POA considers architectural form, spatial organisation and the surrounding environment together. Through the arrangement of volumes, courtyards, terraces and circulation routes, the practice explores relationships between buildings and the city, and between public and private space. Its designs attend both to a building’s presence in the city and to the experience of moving through, pausing in and using its spaces, making room for shared activities and individual life.

This exploration extends across a range of project types. Selected projects include Wangshan Qingshui Ecological Water Treatment Plant, GOLD International Plaza, Oulian Automobile Plaza Renovation, Longgang Digital Agriculture Innovation Center, Wuqian Gymnasium and Wuhan Optics Valley Neighborhood Center.

Alongside its architectural work, POA explores the relationships between architecture, cities, culture and everyday life through publications, exhibitions and academic exchange, bringing these reflections back into its design practice.