Press Release
Schneider Electric Innovation Hub Tokyo Showroom by Ryota Unno Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Ryota Unno acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 26, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Schneider Electric Innovation Hub Tokyo Showroom by Ryota Unno, designed for Schneider Electric Japan, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
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 Schneider Electric Innovation Hub Tokyo Showroom
Schneider Electric Innovation Hub Tokyo is a showroom created for an immersive visitor experience. Concentric floor patterns on a single axis guide movement toward a curved display named the Control Center, which stays visible from several directions. Undulating tube lighting, shaped with the visual programming tool Grasshopper, contrasts with the black grid ceiling and the checkerboard flooring. White walls form the main exhibition surface. Pentagonal modular sofas can be arranged for seating or meetings, or removed to open the circulation.
About Ryota Unno
At GOOD PLACE, a unique design method called "Scene Design" is utilized. This approach entails the conceptualization and user experience of a space, which is then defined as a "scene." By aligning our practice with the business activities of our clients and envisioning the future users of the spaces we design, we implement a design approach that proposes specific spaces as solutions. We believe that by designing like this, more and better space gets created in the world.
Award Record
With this recognition, Ryota Unno is a winner of 7 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2025 - 2026 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award
The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Typical entries include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. The awarded interior designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/interior
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/180869
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180869
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180869
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/298344
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
- Schneider Electric Innovation Hub Tokyo Showroom
- Function
- Showroom
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Slate Gray and Light Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Schneider Electric Japan
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Ryota Unno
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180869
Credits
- Team
- Haruna Kageyama, Ayako Tsuchida and Shogo Komine
- Image Credits
- SS Co., Ltd. Kenichi Ohno
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This Innovation Hub showroom features concentric floor patterns on a single axis, centered on the curved display "Control Center." Flow and gaze naturally converge toward the center. Visitors unconsciously follow these arcs into understanding. 360-degree tube lighting contrasts with this centripetal movement, symbolizing ideas chaining and expanding outward. Black grid ceilings and checkerboard flooring provide linear contrast, accentuating the organic lighting's floating quality.
- Inspiration
- As technology becomes increasingly abstract, communicating corporate values through "experience" is essential. Conventional showrooms relied on passive models-displaying products and explaining. This project aimed to create an experience where visitors actively feel, think, and understand, with "Immersive" as the starting point. By spatializing innovation-where ideas chain and expand-the design transforms showrooms from "exhibition spaces" into "spaces for cognitive transformation."
- Research
- This was Japan's first showroom aligned with global design standards across worldwide locations, with the client requesting an immersive space unlike other sites. This required detailed schedule coordination and cost management including hearings with various stakeholders, as well as designs that were new while following other locations. 3D rendering tools were used to present images to the client in real-time, with repeated discussions to ensure no misunderstandings.
- Challenge
- The challenge was achieving dynamic, irregular three-dimensional curved lighting within constraints of display visibility and limited ceiling height. Using the visual programming tool Grasshopper, the form was determined from extensive simulations, establishing fixed positions and overall length. Additionally, careful consideration was given to acoustic concerns due to adjacency with meeting rooms, and to the overall atmosphere planning.
- Realization and Technology
- The undulating lighting forms were generated using the visual programming tool Grasshopper. Building constraints were parameterized to achieve organic quality. White walls serve as the primary exhibition surface, ensuring content visibility and a clean aesthetic. Wood-grain materials in the sustainability area express thematic affinity and warmth. Flooring with special resin coating reduces resource consumption during maintenance and minimizes wastewater from cleaning.
- Operation and Interaction
- Visitors are guided by concentric floor patterns, naturally walking deeper into the space. The curved "Control Center" is visible from multiple directions for unified information sharing. "The View" enables intuitive exploration through touch. Hybrid exhibitions deepen understanding with each step. Pentagonal modular sofas adapt to use-audience seating, meetings, or removed for circulation. An active environment where visitors experience technology while understanding the company's direction.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in March 2025 in Tokyo and was completed in September 2025.
- Specifications
- 20,600mm x 23,500mm x CH2800mm
- Keywords
- Showroom, Interior Design, Spatial System, Information Architecture, Curved Display, Immersive Space, Lighting Design, Technology Exhibition, Innovation Hub
