Press Release
A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Goes to The Belvedere House by Chikako Matsuo
The international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Chikako Matsuo for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 14, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for The Belvedere House by Chikako Matsuo, designed for Ichiekensho Co.Ltd.. The recognition forms part of the 2023 - 2024 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 scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About The Belvedere House
The Belvedere is a single-story house built on a hill in Okayama, Japan. The house is arranged like a museum, so that an art collection can be displayed and enjoyed every day. All the walls are made of brick, a simple finish that blends with the surrounding nature. The entrance wraps around the house, and the porch has a bright wood paneled ceiling. Towada stone from Akita Prefecture covers the entrance area. A flat corridor leads to a gallery space with artwork and decorative lighting. Two inner gardens and top lights bring daylight into the long plan.
About Chikako Matsuo
Architect Chikako Matsuo is based in Okayama, Japan. She always meets her clients in person to design their dream homes. Matsuo is a talented designer with a wealth of creativity and a reputation for producing original buildings. What is important to her in her designs is to create spaces that are not only beautiful but also comfortable and allow the residents to feel the changes that appear in the four seasons in Japan. Chikako Matsuo believes that the most important thing in design is to live in a space that is in harmony with nature.
Award Record
With this recognition, Chikako Matsuo 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/157993
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/157993
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!157993
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/352436
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.ichiekensho.co.jp
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
- The Belvedere House
- Function
- House
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Steel Blue, Olive Drab, Dim Gray, Dark Gray and Black
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Ichiekensho Co.Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Chikako Matsuo
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #157993
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Senichiro Nogami
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- All the walls of this house are made of brick, which may seem monotonous, but it blends in perfectly with the surrounding nature and never becomes boring.The entranceway is designed to wrap around the house, and visitors are greeted by a porch with a brightly wood paneled ceiling. The entranceway is richly covered with Towada stone, which is mined only in Akita Prefecture, Japan.The flat corridor leads to a gallery space where visitors can enjoy artwork and beautiful lighting fixtures.
- Inspiration
- The client is very interested in art and artifacts and wanted a space where he could display his collection and enjoy it daily, so we proposed a house where he could enjoy his works as if it were a museum. The proposed site for the house is on a hill, so we designed the house to be imposing, and the colors were chosen so as not to detract from the surrounding landscape.
- Research
- The house is a spacious single-story building situated on a hill with no other structures around it. As a result, we had extensive conversations on how to tackle the issue of summer heat. We resolved the problem by incorporating a substantial amount of insulation material on the roof and creating an air layer between the ceiling and the roof. Furthermore, we installed only a minimal amount of windows on the west side to enjoy the scenic view.
- Challenge
- The house is a long one-story building that requires adequate lighting. As per the client's request we avoided installing windows on the street side to maintain privacy. However we solved this problem by constructing two gardens in the middle of the building and incorporating top lights to ensure proper illumination.
- Realization and Technology
- The wooden structure has a flat roof and has a considerable amount of insulation on it.
- Operation and Interaction
- The owner of this house was very specific about the materials used, such as wood, natural stone, and tiles, to achieve high quality. To ensure that the exterior stayed visually appealing even after many years of residency, it was designed on a traditional Japanese roof with deep eaves, while also making sure that the windows and doors were not visible.
- Project Duration and Location
- Hayashima-cho, Tsukubo-gun, Okayama, Japan Project period 3 years Completion in 2022
- Specifications
- Surface area 961.40 square metre Bed area 335.77 square metre Structure Wood
- Keywords
- house, green, japan, Architecture, hill, nature
