Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Goes to Moritomi Japanese Cuisine Japanese Restaurant by Tetsuya Matsumoto

Tetsuya Matsumoto recognized for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ Moritomi Japanese Cuisine Japanese Restaurant by Tetsuya Matsumoto, designed for Moritomi, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2019 - 2020 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 scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Silver A' Design Award Explained

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 Moritomi Japanese Cuisine Japanese Restaurant

The relocation of Moritomi, a restaurant offering Japanese cuisine, next to the world heritage Himeji Castle explores the relationships between materiality, shape and traditional architectonics interpretation. The new space tries to reproduce the castle stone fortifications pattern in various materials including rough and polished stones, black oxide coated steel, and tatami mats. A floor made in small resin coated gravels represents the castle moat. Two colors, white and black, flows like water from outside, and crossing the wooden lattice decorated entrance door, to the reception hall.

About Tetsuya Matsumoto

Tetsuya Matsumoto is the founder and Head Architect Designer at KTX archiLAB based in Japan, and a Lecturer of a space design course at Osaka University of Art. After graduating from the same university, he specialized in commercial space design and built a large portfolio of projects varying both in type and scale, from shops and restaurants to offices and clinics, and from a small pharmacy to a large Hospital. Tetsuya has received more than a hundred local and international design awards and became a jury member for several prestigious prizes.

Award Record

Tetsuya Matsumoto is a winner of 14 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2014 - 2015 to 2019 - 2020 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. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/interior

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/99235
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/99235
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!99235
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/148039
Further Information from the Laureate: http://ktx.space/

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: Moritomi Japanese Cuisine Japanese Restaurant
Function: Japanese Restaurant
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Dim Gray, Dark Slate Gray, Gray, Rosy Brown and Black
Images: 5
Client: Moritomi

The Recognition

Laureate: Tetsuya Matsumoto
Country: Japan
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2019 - 2020
Design ID: #99235

Credits

Design Details

Unique Properties: Architecture as a practice is deeply related to materiality. But what if we substitute a material by another, in an attempt of keeping its spirit, or temperament? Offering Japanese cuisine Since 1945, Moritomi is relocating close to the world heritage Himeji Castle. The design for its new space is inspired by the castle stone fortification base and reproduces similar patterns using three different materials: Rough and polished stone, Black oxide coated steel, and Japanese tatami mats.
Inspiration: The design for Moritomi Japanese Cuisine new relocation was inspired mainly by its new Neighbor, the 16th century world heritage Himeji Castle. The stone fortifications of the castle were part of the old restaurant, however in a traditional way. The new space needed to step forward and pay tribute to this military masterpiece by imitating their patterns using different contemporary materials and methods. The moat at the fortifications feet also inspired the entrance floor finish.
Research: Stone is more than just a material, and stonework is more than just a craft. Architecture as a practice is deeply related to materiality and the spirit of its spaces is thoroughly defined by the materials in use. But what if we substitute a material by another, in an attempt of keeping its spirit, or temperament? The approach of space at Moritomi new location is a redefinition of the Japanese materiality and design lines inspired by the stonework at Himeji Castle base fortifications.
Challenge: The biggest challenge was to find a common spirit of space using different and incoherent materials, but also applying materials outside of their traditional use to create a new atmosphere. Controlling these differences while guaranteeing the balance and keeping the identity of the space was one of the specificities of this space design. Furthermore, keeping the balance between the traditional spirit of the restaurant and the contemporary context added yet another complexity to the project.
Realization and Technology: The restaurant occupies parts of the first and second level of an already existing mixed-use building constructed using a concrete structure. The interior finishes come in different materials: Stone, Black Oxide Coated Steel, Platina sheets, Tatami Mats, wallpaper, vinyl floor tiles, dark mirrors, and an organic plaster-based material called Joly-pat and resembling traditional Japanese earth walls. This later includes tiny glass beads that sparkles while exposed to light.
Operation and Interaction: The outside of the restaurant is clad in rough and polished stones resembling the Castle fortification and gravel floor reminding the mat water flow crosses the lattice entrance door inviting customers to do similarly. The first floor hosts some tables seating, three small rooms of 4 to 6 people, and a counter seating together with the kitchen. The second level includes a VIP room of 12 seats that can be divided into two rooms. and a larger banquet room that can be divided into four spaces.
Project Duration and Location: Project start: October 2018. Construction start: June 2019. Project/Construction End: September 2019. Location: Designed and constructed in Himeji City, Japan.
Specifications: Gross Built Area: 330sqm W23800mm x D11805mm x H6954mm
Keywords: Japan, restaurant, material, interpretation, traditional, stone, steel, pattern, tatami, interior