Shanghai-based designer Ben Wu has won the 24th Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year Award.

This is the first time that a Chinese mainland designer has won this prestigious honor, described as the "Oscars of the interior design world."

Ben Wu

The 49-year-old Wu is founder of WS, which has multiple design and lifestyle brands including W.DESIGN and WS SPACE.

He has a strong foundation in traditional Chinese art as he studied ink-wash painting underFu Wenyan, who was master Zhang Daqian’s last disciple.

Wu's design philosophy is "modern Oriental," a combination of Western design concepts and traditional Eastern culture.

With more than 20 years of experience in interior and home design, he has stunned clients and peers with work covering public spaces, private clubs and historical protected structures.

His interior design projects include Tomson Riviera in Shanghai, Sunac Taohuayuan in Suzhou and The Times Garden in Hangzhou.

Tomson Riviera

The Times Garden