Press Release
Silver A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Goes to House in Morimachi House by Toshiaki Tanaka
Toshiaki Tanaka recognized for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ House in Morimachi House by Toshiaki Tanaka, designed for Toshiaki Tanaka & Associates, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2019 - 2020 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 Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About House in Morimachi House
House in Morimachi is a single storey house designed in a minimal form. The house is clad in metal sheets and kept low to respect the surrounding scenery. Steel framing forms the main structure, with dimensions standardized to the module of the traditional Japanese timber house to keep a familiar sense of scale. Wood sliding doors add depth, continuity and openness to the interior. The garden combines water scenery with gently undulating ground, creating a different view from each room along the south facade. Traditional carpentry and plaster techniques were used throughout.
Award Record
With this recognition, Toshiaki Tanaka 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. 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/94753
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/94753
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!94753
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/261794
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
- House in Morimachi House
- Function
- House
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Cornflower Blue, Sky Blue and Midnight Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Toshiaki Tanaka & Associates
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Toshiaki Tanaka
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #94753
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer / Kouji Okamoto
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- A single storied house cladded in metal sheets in a minimal form, kept low to respect the scenery around the site. With steel framing as a main structure, the module of traditional Japanese wooden house is employed in standardisation of dimensions composing the house. The wood sliding doors enhance the depth and the continuity of the interior space. The garden is designed with water scenery and gently undulating ground surfaces to provide unique views for each room facing to south.
- Inspiration
- The house equally values the building and its exterior space. It aims to reflect abundant changes of nature by the seasons through intimate continuity with exterior, by reinterpreting Japanese traditional spacial elements and decorations.
- Challenge
- The relationship of internal and external space takes a significant role in architecture. In order to fully open the facade in a span of 20m, steel structure based on the grid module of Japanese timber framing system is employed as a primary structure. The columns are sized to the same as timber framing system to create a similar impression to that of a wooden house, as well as taking advantage of steel structure which allows the wide spanning space. The 'engawa'(terrace) continues to the exterior, with the low eaves and the timber ceiling gently inviting the natural light into the space.
- Realization and Technology
- In this project we worked with the carpenters and plasterers with the traditional techniques. To create a space with ‘comfortable sense of tension’, we requested them to conduct from procurement to processing, construction and finish with high-precision of wood materials.
- Operation and Interaction
- The request from our client was to bring out an architectural image from the two existing weekend houses they own, and to draw a coherent cencept in a new proposal. One of them is a refurbished Japanese hotel located in the mountains with a view open to a stream in front. The other one is a renovated old Japanese wooden house with a traditional plan with tatami mats. Both space have the intrinsic character of Japanese wooden architecture, achieved with the skillful carpenters. Our client has a deep understanding in art and music, and an aspiration to enhance and enjoy the daily life in such space.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in September 2013 in Oita City in Japan and completed in September 2015.
- Specifications
- In order to achieve the wooden space in fine quality, we worked closely with a construction company which specialises in the traditional Japanese architecture throughout the project. We devoted our time in the selection of fine tree species, starting with processing the raw teak wood which had been stored for 30 years in their factory. They were dried naturally outside in fresh air for half a year, 10 months were spent on the selection, finishing and construction on site. The same material is used for the furniture, fixtures and the interior finishing as well. The interior walls are finished with the traditional plaster technique.
