Press Release
Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Yatsugatake Villa Residence in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Yatsugatake Villa Residence by Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura, designed for MDS Co., Ltd.. The result belongs to the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed 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.
About Yatsugatake Villa Residence
Yatsugatake Villa is a summer residence located in Hokuto-City, Yamanashi, Japan. The building is formed by three trapezoid tubes arranged in a fan shape and opening to the south. The wide southern opening admits sunlight during the cold winter, while the extended roof and side walls block the strong summer sun. Windows on the north and south sides let breezes pass through the interior. Traditional Japanese wooden construction is used, with cedar, plaster and shoji screens. Closed shoji screens give soft light, and open screens frame the surrounding mountain landscape.
About Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura
We aim to create architecture that people will continue to love as time passes. Rather than pursue designs that look new on the surface or are full of unnecessary features, we feel it's most important to design comfortable spaces and attractive forms. In the 21st century, the diversification of lifestyles, climate change, and other factors have led to a greater variety of considerations when designing architecture than ever before. When we rethink about architecture, we believe it is even more important to think flexibly and free from preconceived ideas.
Award Record
This recognition makes Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura 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. The competition 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. Entries typically include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. Awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission 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. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated 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. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates 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, the upload of a work and the 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. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/129187
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/129187
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!129187
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/314395
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.mds-arch.com
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
- Yatsugatake Villa Residence
- Function
- Residence
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Cornflower Blue, Dark Olive Green, Dark Slate Gray, Light Steel Blue and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- MDS Co., Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2021 - 2022
- Design ID
- #129187
Credits
- Team
- Kiyotoshi Mori and Natsuko Kawamura
- Image Credits
- Photography: Toshiyuki Yano
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The exterior is characterized by three modern trapezoid tubes, deforming the traditional Japanese space under deep eaves to frame the landscape in four directions. The form was derived from meticulous calculation of precipitation, the sun's movement in summer and winter, and the thermal environment. Shoji paper screens offer a space filled with soft light iconic of Japanese culture when closed, and switch to the majestic scenery framed by the walls when opened, providing two alternating scenes.
- Inspiration
- With exterior walls arranged to resemble a fan, the house provides framing for the landscape, maximizing the location on a plateau surrounded by fields and trees with panoramic view of mountain ranges in the distance. It is a summer resort, slightly cooler than humid summers in Tokyo, and yet the sun rays are strong and the winters are cold. The roof was extended to block direct sunlight in the summer and side walls to keep the western sun out, resulting in a series of tubular forms.
- Research
- Three trapezoid tubes with north-south openings sit wide open towards the south to maximize winter daylight. Glass surfaces are set back from the roof edge to avoid direct south sun rays in summer. Side walls are arranged to block the west sun. The footprint is set back from the roof edge, partly to reduce soil excavation (deep foundation below the frost line is required), creating a sitting area free from rain dripping from the roof. It is a modern version of traditional Japanese engawa space.
- Challenge
- In Japan, especially in rural areas, the number of carpenters capable of building elaborate wooden houses is decreasing, and it was difficult to find a builder who could construct a building with a unique (challenging) design. In spite of the modern design, Japanese cedar and plastering materials are used, and shoji screens as well as other traditional materials handed down from generation to generation are fit in by the indigenous module method, enabling the definition of a Japanese space.
- Realization and Technology
- Contrary to the contemporary style guided by precipitation, sun rays and the surrounding environment, the construction of the house incorporates traditional Japanese wooden construction methods, with earthquake-resistant walls and large openings. Traditional Japanese techniques and components are used throughout, including plastering on the curved openings and fittings such as shoji and ranma (partition with ventilation and daylighting functions), creating a vernacular architecture.
- Operation and Interaction
- Considering the cold winter, the building is built in a fan shape, open to the south, in order to maximize the sunlight while the sun moves. On the other hand, in summer, the roofs and walls of the trapezoid tubes block the strong sun rays, creating shadows inside, and windows at the north and south let the breeze through to cool the airy space. The layout, guided by the thermal environment, provides various interior scenes of varying depths as seen through the openings that connect the spaces.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was completed in Hokuto-City, Yamanashi, Japan in 2012
- Specifications
- Site Area 691.00m2 Total Floor Area 110.01 m2 (1F 71.65 m2, 2F 38.36 m2) W17,400mm x D12,300mm x H6,139mm
- Keywords
- Villa, Sun light, Wind, Fan-shape, Wooden, Mountain, Three adjacent shells, Sho-ji, Eaves, Farming
