Akira Koyama Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Complex in Architecture, Building and Structure Design

The international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Akira Koyama for architecture, building and structure design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Complex by Akira Koyama, designed for Key Operation Inc., has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The award was conferred within the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Bronze A' Design Award Means

The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.

More About Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Complex

Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids is a five-storey apartment complex of 14 units in Tokyo. The building stands on a deep parcel with tight frontage, measuring 17 metres to the back and 8 metres in width. The four corners of each volume are notched to form six vertical voids that bring daylight into the units. The complex is arranged as two volumes, front and rear, separated by open corridors with stairs to all floors. The corridors connect the six voids and act as paths for natural ventilation. The street facade is a structural wall with a water-jet chipped finish that protects privacy.

Award Record

With this recognition, Akira Koyama is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award

The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture

About A' Design Award & Competition

Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/118067
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/118067
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!118067
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/219592
Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/3wBiEmz

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Fudomae Apartment with Six Voids Complex
Function: Complex
Category: Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture
Colors: Cadet Blue, Slate Gray, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray and Midnight Blue
Images: 5
Client: Key Operation Inc.

The Recognition

Laureate: Akira Koyama
Country: Japan
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2020 - 2021
Design ID: #118067

Credits

Team: Akira Koyama + KEY OPERATION INC./ARCHITECTS, ASCOT CORP., Delta Structural Consultants, Comodo and Nakajima Kenko
Image Credits: All Images: Yoshifumi Moriya / Nacasa & Partners Inc. Video: Akira Koyama / Key Operation Inc.

Design Details

Unique Properties: A five-storey apartment complex of 14 units was developed for a parcel along a small local commercial avenue in Tokyo. To develop a parcel relatively deep with tight frontage in central Tokyo, the main theme for drawing the plan focused on supply of daylight and airflow throughout, while retaining density and thus enhancing rents. In this regard, a void to meet the local ordinance requirement of an evacuation route and additional voids were established.
Inspiration: The four corners of each volume are notched to establish six vertical voids that bring light down into each unit for a heartening indoor environment. For a plan such as this, surrounded by buildings on neighbouring property all around, the lower floors for the new building are often unable to secure effective openings to draw sufficient daylight. The notched corners of each volume establish voids in front of neighbouring property and enable window openings facing the voids to provide effective daylight access that meets building code.
Research: The number of pet cats in Japan is nearing 10 million in 2020. Lifestyle changes brought upon by Covid-19 have increased the desire for comfort from pets. Important themes based on our Covid-19 experience prompt us to consider inclusion of outdoor space. This flat complex establishes voids for a deep parcel with poor air passage to the back in order to secure natural ventilation.
Challenge: The building code in Japan establishes standards for the specific planar area of openings with respect to the floor space of a room. For residential complexes, the area for openings must be at least 1/7 of the floor space of each room. In relation to the area of a window opening, the distance from the window to adjacent building and the height from the top of the building have a large impact on the calculated effective opening area.
Realization and Technology: Extruded cement panels are used for the wall rising above the outdoor passage in order to reduce the load. The street façade also rises four storeys as structural wall with a water-jet chipped finish. This distinctive expression faces the street and provides robust privacy for sleeping quarters behind the wall. The windows of the street-side voids are effectively set back, while the wall roughened by water jet draws passers’-by attention to enhance window privacy.
Operation and Interaction: A typical studio flat plots the kitchen space and unitized bathroom that require plumbing to the left and right of a central corridor opening up into a bedroom in the back. The studio flats in this complex, however, arrange their bath area towards the core of their volume and corridor along an exterior wall. The respective corridors internally connect the six voids as thoroughfares of natural ventilation.
Project Duration and Location: The project is located in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The project was started in July 2019, and finished in July 2020.
Specifications: The site is a deep parcel with tight frontage, it measures 17 m to the back, 8 m in width. Site area is 155.07m2, Building area is 113.17m2, and Total floor area is 527.68m2. The building consequently comprises two volumes, front and rear, separated by open corridors installed with stairs ascending to all floors for access to the flats.
Keywords: Apartment, Window, Voids, Post Coronavirus, Rental Complex, Pet, Cat Owners