Press Release
Transition Exhibition by Shuhei Matsuyama Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Shuhei Matsuyama for trade show architecture, interiors, and exhibit design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 16, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Transition Exhibition by Shuhei Matsuyama, designed for enigma Inc., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
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 Transition Exhibition
Transition is a flower exhibition that presents ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, within a contemporary setting. The open layout has no rear wall, so visitors walk freely and view each arrangement from many angles instead of only from the front. Natural sunlight and responsive lighting change through the day, so the space and the living flowers shift continuously. Modular pedestals are three-dimensionally printed from recyclable resin and can be taken apart and reused. The level, barrier-free floor keeps the exhibition open to all visitors.
Award Record
Shuhei Matsuyama is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. All of the awards belong to the 2025 - 2026 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design Award
The A' Trade Show Design Award is an international competition recognizing innovative trade show booth projects and the best designers creating them. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to trade show designers, exhibition designers, event planners and interior designers from all countries. Entries typically include trade show interiors, exhibits, booths, pavilions, showrooms and kiosks. Awarded exhibit designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/trade-show
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/175014
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/175014
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!175014
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/369740
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.ikenobo.jp/english/news/2025/03/31/world-expo-20
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
- Transition Exhibition
- Function
- Exhibition
- Category
- Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Branding & Advertising
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Gray, Light Slate Gray and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- enigma Inc.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Shuhei Matsuyama
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #175014
Credits
- Team
- Koki Kaminoura, Kenji Suina, Kazuhiro Itagaki, Daina Kato, Kenta Iguchi, Satomi Tamai, Tsubasa Kuri, Tomoya Shimojo and Mako Fujimoto
- Image Credits
- #5: Photographer Kamiya Ryo、Transition: The Origin of Ikebana、 2025. Video Credits: Videographer Mizuno Kai、 Transition: The Origin of Ikebana、 2025.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- An immersive flower exhibition engaging all five senses, tracing 1,400 years of ikebana and the kado philosophy of the life of flowers. Fresh floral works, shifting sunlight, and responsive lighting continuously transform both space and experience. A wall-less, open configuration overturns traditional frontal ikebana viewing, inviting active participation and enabling unrepeatable, time-based engagement with floral art.
- Inspiration
- Ikebana is a centuries-old tradition that unites time-based and spatial art. To honor this duality, we removed the rear wall once deemed essential, shaping a fluid gallery where changing daylight, responsive lighting, and living flowers mingle in shifting layers. Visitors roam freely, viewing each arrangement from many angles while bespoke Unreal-Engine simulations refined sun paths and sightless, letting space and work animate each other.
- Research
- In this show we discarded the rear wall once mandatory for classical ikebana and used self-standing fixtures, letting visitors wander freely. Single-use timber walls became reusable, 3-D-printed units of recycled resin, proving ikebana can travel to sites once impossible. Surveys showed 90 % of attendees were first-time ikebana viewers, revealing new audiences. Energized by this success, we are already planning the next “new-generation” flower exhibition.
- Challenge
- Traditional ikebana shows erected one-off timber walls and fixtures, then scrapped them. We challenged that legacy, adopting a reusable system that slashes physical build. Pedestals are 3-D-printed from recyclable resin, designed for quick disassembly, transport, and redeployment, cutting material use and waste. With level floors and wide clearances, the fully barrier-free layout marries sustainability to inclusive design.
- Realization and Technology
- The exhibition structure was realized using recyclable resin-based 3D-printed pedestals, minimizing waste and enabling modular reuse for future installations. The lighting design incorporated responsive LED systems to simulate natural transitions. Spatial modeling and daylight simulation were conducted using Unreal Engine to test sun paths and visual conditions, allowing for precise environmental calibration. Materials include wood, recycled steel, and living floral elements.
- Operation and Interaction
- Visitors freely move through the open, wall-less gallery, exploring ikebana arrangements from multiple angles. Natural and dynamic lighting interact with fresh flowers, creating constantly shifting scenes. This spatial and sensory engagement encourages personal interpretation, breaking from the static, front-facing norms of classical ikebana.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started on April 13, 2025, and concluded on April 20, 2025. It was exhibited at the “Gallery EAST” of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.
- Specifications
- Exhibition area: approx. 300 sqm. Monitor fixtures: 1965 mm Width x 470 mm Depth x 1195 mm Height. Large stage: 3000 mm Width x 4200 mm Depth x 300 mm Height. 130-size modular lighting pedestals in 3 types: A: 400 mm Width x 400 mm Depth, B: 500 mm Width x 500 mm Depth, C: 800 mm Width x 800 mm Depth. All components are designed for disassembly, reuse, and full barrier-free accessibility.
- Keywords
- Ikebana, Exhibition Design, Floral Art, Japanese Culture, Immersive Experience, Sustainable Design, Inclusive Design, Expo 2025, Contemporary Art, Spatial Design
