Press Release
Airom Lamp by Hiroto Nakamura Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
Hiroto Nakamura acknowledged for lighting products and fixtures design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Airom Lamp by Hiroto Nakamura, designed for H!roto_Factory, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Lighting Products and Fixtures Design category. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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.
Regarding Airom Lamp
Airom is a freestanding indoor floor lamp that treats air as an active shaping element. The shade is made of tracing paper and gains its form only when filled with air. The paper is crumpled to create fine wrinkles that give depth and softness to the emitted light. Parts are laser cut and joined with two adhesives for added strength, and no molds are used, so each unit is unique. During setup the air volume is adjusted and the shade is shaped by hand. The structure is lightweight and folds flat for compact packaging.
About Hiroto Nakamura
Based in Okinawa, this artist is studying furniture design while engaging in practices rooted in the region’s natural environment and cultural context. The creative process begins by focusing on Okinawa’s climate and locally available materials, exploring the conditions unique to the region. By incorporating traditional Japanese techniques, the artist seeks new forms of expression and functionality. This approach emphasizes reinterpreting the relationship between materials and craftsmanship, aiming to propose designs that respond to contemporary living environments. Through this process, the works demonstrate the potential to connect regional characteristics with broader, new perspectives.
Award Record
This recognition makes Hiroto Nakamura a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Lighting Products and Fixtures Design Award
The A' Lighting Design Award is an international lighting design competition recognizing good lighting designs by best lighting designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to lighting designers, lighting architects, industrial design studios and lighting product manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include chandeliers, pendant lights, wall sconces, table lamps, floor lamps and outdoor lights. Awarded lighting designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/lighting
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/179950
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179950
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179950
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/378646
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
- Airom Lamp
- Function
- Lamp
- Category
- Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Furniture & Home and Electronics & Appliances
- Colors
- Antique White, Dim Gray, Seashell, Black and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- H!roto_Factory
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Hiroto Nakamura
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179950
Credits
- Image Credits
- Creator / Designer [Hiroto Nakamura], Airom, 2026.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Airom is a lighting product that treats air not as a passive volume but as an active element that gently shapes form. Made of tracing paper the shade gains its shape only when filled with air letting light softly reveal a temporary and changeable state. Formed without molds each unit is inherently unique. Subtle wrinkles in the material give depth and softness to the light while the act of shaping becomes part of the lighting experience.
- Inspiration
- We were inspired by clouds seen in Okinawa natural environment. Shaped by strong sunlight humidity and the surrounding sea clouds continuously change form while remaining suspended in the sky existing without clear outlines. To reinterpret this quality as lighting we focused on traditional Japanese paper balloons whose shape exists only through air and can be freely formed by hand. By combining these elements airom allows air to be perceived through light.
- Research
- This design research explores air as a formative element in lighting. The objective was to redefine air from an invisible condition into a controllable design parameter. Based on the structure of traditional Japanese paper balloons material experiments and iterative prototyping were conducted using tracing paper and internal light. User interaction determines form and light quality shifting lighting from a fixed object to a participatory spatial experience.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was translating air an invisible and unstable element into a controllable factor within a lighting product. Internally this required redefining the structure of traditional Japanese paper balloons as functional design logic. Externally challenges included material strength safety with an AC 100V light source and mold free production. These issues were addressed through material testing and iterative prototyping.
- Realization and Technology
- Airom uses tracing paper as its primary material for its balance of flexibility and soft light diffusion. The paper is first crumpled to create fine wrinkles that add depth and subtle variation to the emitted light. Parts are precisely cut using a laser cutting machine to ensure repeatable accuracy suitable for production. Two types of adhesive are applied to enhance structural strength. The shade is formed without molds by inflating air enabling a lightweight structure adaptable to variation and production.
- Operation and Interaction
- Airom is completed through user interaction. During setup the user introduces air into the shade and shapes it by hand. The final form depends on air volume and gestures making each configuration unique. Even during use the form can be adjusted by changing the air volume allowing the lighting atmosphere to evolve over time.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in April 2025 and was completed in January 2026. Design development and prototyping were carried out in Okinawa, Japan. The project has not yet been exhibited.
- Specifications
- Airom is an indoor freestanding lighting product composed of tracing paper adhesive and an integrated LED module powered by AC 100V. Its air shaped form creates a soft irregular volume rather than a fixed geometry. Airom is available in three sizes Small W 600mm x D 600mm x H 1000 mm. Medium W 800mm x D 800mm x H 1700 mm. Large W 1000 mm x D 1000mm x H 2000 mm. The structure is lightweight and foldable for compact packaging. Laser cut parts and dual adhesives ensure precision strength and flexibility while a low heat LED enables safe operation.
- Keywords
- Lamp, Lighting, Light fixture, Paper, Paper Balloon,
