CITIC General Institute of Architectural Design and Research Co., Ltd. (the former Wuhan Architectural Design Institute） was established on Oct. 1st, 1952. As one of the largest state-owned design organizations when the new China was founded, it is now one of the major comprehensive architectural design institutes with Grade A Certificate for Engineering Design, Urban Planning, Engineering Design Examination and Engineering Consultation. It is designated foreign-aid project design institutes by the Ministry of Commerce, and has been granted the authorization to undertake foreign projects. In 1980s, the institute became the Pilot Unit for Design System Reform and Pilot Unit for Total Quality Control (TQC) in the national construction system.In 1992, it was found among the China’s Top 100 Survey and Design Units in terms of comprehensive power assessed jointly by the Ministry of Construction and the National Bureau of Statistics. In 1994, it became the first design unit in China that adopted computer-aided engineering design methods. In 2000, it passed ISO9001 Quality Management System Certification and was allowed the right to register; In 2002, it joined CITIC.

        The scope of business of the institute includes: various urban and rural planing, urban design, design of various civil and industrial buildings, design of landscape architecture, interior design; technical consultation, review of working drawings, design supervision, price assessment of real estate, project management, environmental art project, intelligent project, system integration technique; computer software development, networking project; architectural science research and technology development.Absorbing and profiting from mature and advanced international engineering contract mode, we implement overall management in investment opportunities study, feasibility study, project appraisal, investigation & design, tender offering, construction management, pilot production, final acceptance of construction, production & operation, summary & evaluation and so forth, to control investment, construction period, quality and security. And we have undertaken a lot of construction projects invested by the government or known enterprises, with municipal engineering, public building, residential construction involved.
        The institute is abundant in talented employees, and boasts full range of specialties, sophisticated equipment, advanced technology. It currently has 1462 staff, including 1191 professional technicians, 12 of whom are experts enjoying the State Council Special Allowance; 30 are provincial or municipal level experts, more than 200 are senior engineers, 358 are intermediate engineers. We now has 95 Class I Certified Architects, 117 Class I Certified Structural Engineers, 9 Certified City Planners, 58 Certified Utility Engineers, 19 Certified Electrical Engineers, 10 Certified Cost Engineers, and 8 Certified Consulting Engineers, 3 Certified Civil Engineers. Among them, 6 people have obtained architectural and structural engineer qualifications that are mutually recognized by China mainland and Hong Kong.
        In the recent half of century, our institute has undertaken and fulfilled the planning and design work for dozens of towns both at home and abroad, and architectural design amounting to more than 80 million square meters. We have offered design service in almost every part of China and in more than 20 countries crossing from Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America, and have made extensive technical cooperation and talent exchange with counterparts in USA, Japan, Germany, Austria, the UK, Russia, France, Italy, Singapore and the Hong Kong - Macau Region. For the past 25 years, the overall capability of the Institute marches forward following the management guideline: ‘push the development of the Institute with reforms, base the development of the institute on technologies, manage the institute in a scientific manner, and strengthen the institute by giving full play to the talents’, carrying out the brand name strategy-develop high and new technologies, strive to create brand-name and high-quality designs, to make marked progress; We won more than 200 prizes for Outstanding Design and more than 100 prizes for Progress in Science and Technology of national, ministerial, provincial and municipal levels.
        Our Institute implements the Beijing Charter, carries forward the enterprise spirit: ‘To design sufficient buildings to help people live suitably and cheerfully’. We makes efforts for the prospering of the architectural culture, makes commitment to technological innovation, enforces strict quality control measures. The institute aim to contribute excellent design and services to the society, to build beautiful and fair habitat environment for the popular masses, to create modern cities and buildings that can develop in a sustainable way.