Press Release
White Rose English School by Naoko Horibe Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Naoko Horibe honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ White Rose English School by Naoko Horibe, designed for Horibe Associates, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The award was conferred within the 2022 - 2023 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 Bronze A' Design Award
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 White Rose English School
White Rose English School is a school for children to learn English conversation. By making the roads on the school grounds one-way, cars can enter and exit smoothly, and congestion on the front road will be alleviated. The façade is designed in a semi-circle rather than a full circle, showing the possibilities of English learning that can connect children to their future and the world. The shape of the protruding slabs on the façade expresses the energy and liveliness of children. Through the characteristic large semi-circular window, you can see the children happily running around.
About Naoko Horibe
Naoko Horibe is a Lead Architect at Horibe Associates. The architecture that Horibe Associates aims for is not only design and functionality, but also architecture that is loved by people for decades, protects people, and does not fade. For that reason, they carefully investigate everything related to the project, such as the client's request, the surrounding environment of the planned site, and possible changes in the future, and continue to make efforts to design better architecture.
Award Record
This recognition makes Naoko Horibe 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://designers.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://designers.org/149134
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/149134
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!149134
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/343144
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://horibeassociates.com/
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
- White Rose English School
- Function
- English School
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Steel Blue, White Smoke, Light Slate Gray, Dark Slate Blue and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Horibe Associates
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Naoko Horibe
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #149134
Credits
- Image Credits
- Main Image: Photographer Kaori Ichikawa; Photographer Kaori Ichikawa
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- White Rose English School is a school for children to learn English. The facade is designed with semicircles instead of complete circles, showing children's potential in learning English which may lead them to the future and to the world. Design of the front projected portion represents overflowing energy and liveliness of the children. You can see the children joyfully moving from the outside through the big distinctive semi-circle window.
- Inspiration
- First of all, this project is a facility for children with a lot of potential for the future. Secondly, it is planned on land close to the Takatsuki Castle ruins park, which is rich in greenery and is loved by citizens. Finally, since it was necessary to make it easy for parents to pick up and drop off their children, we came up with a design that would allow the building itself to serve as a signboard, incorporating soft curves and large openings that allow a view to the other side.
- Research
- Architecture has a great impact on the surrounding people, streets, and environment as soon as it is completed. And it will continue to exist in the land for decades, regardless of whether it is used carefully or whether it is familiar with the place. Don't be biased towards only design or functionality. Architecture that has been loved by people for decades, protects people, and fascinates people without fading. That is the style of architecture that we seek.
- Challenge
- Shuttle buses can pass under the pilotis. One of the pilotis shall be a 4m protruding slab. A three-story building with a height of 10m or less. Meeting these requirements required a thorough discussion between architectural and structural design. The walls with large arches are also large beams. And they were fused splendidly and became the best architecture.
- Realization and Technology
- The front road is narrow, and consideration for traffic congestion was required. That's why we built two arches in the building so that you can drop off and pick up your child through the drive-thru without getting wet in the rain. Through these, you can also see the greenery of the park from the road side. And by using glass for the handrails of the internal stairs, we made it possible to see the children's energetic movements from the outside through the large semi-circular windows.
- Operation and Interaction
- A spacious parking space has been set up to make the facility easy to use not only for children but also for parents. Each floor has ample waiting space, and from the 2nd floor you can see the children learning in the classroom. There is also a baby corner on the first floor, so it is safe to drop off and pick up small children. We hope that this building will be used not only as an English conversation school, but also as a place for the local community and a symbol of the region.
- Project Duration and Location
- The design for this project started in June 2012 in Osaka. Construction began in May 2013. Construction was completed in April 2014.
- Specifications
- A three-story reinforced concrete building. Width 17.8m, depth 11.2m, height 9.98m (height limit 10m). Total floor area 578.53 square meters. Although it is compact, it creates an open space that combines functionality and design by using a stairwell, a large opening, and a protruding slab of about 4m. A more minimalist design was achieved through a structural design in which the pillars do not protrude from the walls. The minimalist design does not interfere with children's imagination.
- Keywords
- school, minimal, simple, for kids, arch, concrete, white, kindergarten
