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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Nobuaki Miyashita Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Embraced in Recycled Steel Office in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 21, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Embraced in Recycled Steel Office by Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio, designed for Kyoei Steel Ltd.. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided 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.

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.

More About Embraced in Recycled Steel Office

Embraced in Recycled Steel is an office interior built with recycled steel supplied by Kyoei Steel. Angle steel, rebars, and flat bars are left exposed to emphasize material strength and texture. Structural elements that are usually concealed become aesthetic focal points. Barcode and QR code motifs extend across wall finishes and stair railings, linking the space to the company identity. Steel ceiling louvers hold seamless linear LED lighting that highlights the motifs. The interior shows the potential of repurposed materials in a contemporary workplace.

About Mr Studio

An architectural firm based in Japan that designs various types of buildings, including residential homes, commercial facilities, hotels, offices, factories, and schools.

Award Record

This recognition makes Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio a winner of 7 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2023 - 2024 and the 2024 - 2025 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

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
Embraced in Recycled Steel Office
Function
Office
Category
Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline
Spatial Design
Industry
Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors
Dark Slate Gray, Black, Dim Gray, Gray and Dark Gray
Images
5
Client
Kyoei Steel Ltd.

The Recognition

Laureate
Nobuaki Miyashita
Country
Japan
Brand
Mr Studio
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2024 - 2025
Design ID
#171450

Credits

Image Credits
Image #1,#2 : Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita Variations, 2024 Image #3,#4,#5 : Photographer Sato Kenta, Variations, 2024.

Design Details

Unique Properties
This office interior transforms Kyoei Steel’s recycled steel—angle steel, rebars, and flat bars—into a refined architectural expression. Typically hidden elements become aesthetic highlights, emphasizing material strength and texture. Barcode and QR code motifs extend across the space, visually linking to Kyoei Steel’s corporate identity. Lighting enhances these patterns, creating a dynamic interplay between recycled steel, technology, and light.
Inspiration
The design embodies the lifecycle of steel recycling while visually integrating Kyoei Steel’s digital identity. Barcode and QR code patterns, inspired by the company’s website, appear throughout the space, symbolizing the transformation of raw materials into structured design. By exposing and celebrating recycled steel, the project creates a unique spatial narrative, merging industrial heritage with a contemporary digital aesthetic.
Research
Type of Research: Applied Design Research Objective: To explore the aesthetic and functional integration of recycled steel in office interiors. Methodology: Material experimentation, spatial simulations, and lighting analysis. Data Collection: Prototype testing and digital modeling. Participants: Architects, engineers, and Kyoei Steel stakeholders. Results & Insights: The research highlighted the potential of exposed steel as a design element, demonstrating its structural beauty and reinforcing corporate identity. The study advanced sustainable interior design, influencing material reuse practices in industrial architecture.
Challenge
The primary challenge was redefining recycled steel’s role in architecture beyond its conventional industrial use. Integrating angle steel, rebars, and flat bars as visible elements required precise detailing and innovative finishing techniques. Additionally, balancing material authenticity with a refined aesthetic posed a design challenge. Regulatory constraints, production limitations, and ensuring harmony between raw steel textures and digital motifs, such as barcode patterns, demanded extensive prototyping and iterative design development.
Realization and Technology
The office interior features angle steel, rebars, and flat bars as exposed materials, emphasizing their structural and aesthetic qualities. Barcode motifs, derived from Kyoei Steel’s website, are embedded in wall finishes and stair railings, linking physical space to digital branding. The ceiling’s steel louvers incorporate billet-shaped seamless LED lighting, reinforcing a cohesive design language that blends recycled materials with innovative illumination.
Operation and Interaction
The office interior integrates barcode and QR code motifs, linking the space to Kyoei Steel’s corporate identity. These patterns, expressed in wall treatments and stairwell designs, create an interactive experience, guiding movement through the space. The ceiling’s steel louvers diffuse light while reinforcing the visual continuity of barcode-inspired elements. This design transforms an industrial material narrative into a contemporary, high-tech environment.
Project Duration and Location
The project commenced in early 2022 in Yamaguchi, Japan, with design and planning phases focused on integrating Kyoei Steel’s identity into the architecture. Construction began in mid-2023, aiming to unify office functions while enhancing operational efficiency and employee engagement. The office was completed in early 2024, creating a sustainable workspace that embodies the company’s commitment to steel recycling and innovation.
Specifications
Site Area: 108,045.44 Square meters Building Area: 1,091.12 Square meters Total Floor Area: 3,931.89 Square meters Structure: RC Number of Floors: 4 above ground Maximum Height: 19.9 m Eaves Height: 16.5 m Floor Height: 3.9 m Ceiling Height: 2.9 m
Keywords
architecture, office, lighting design, recycled steel, sustainable design

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