Press Release
Kiyoshi Sugimoto Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Wedge House Residence in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Kiyoshi Sugimoto recognized for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Wedge House Residence by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, designed for Masato Ikuta, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 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 scored 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 Wedge House Residence
Wedge House is a three-story residence built on a narrow site with a steep slope in Ikeda City, Japan. The wedge-shaped cross section places the largest floor at the top and the smallest floor below ground, so that no added force is applied to an old retaining wall. The two upper floors are made of wood and the basement is made of reinforced concrete. The east and west walls are finished with silver coated steel plates that support the cantilevered floor and frame the view to the south. The living area on the second floor opens to a terrace with a wide view.
About Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Sync Studio is an architectural design firm based in Osaka, Japan. The practice engages in a variety of projects, focusing on the creation of spaces that respond thoughtfully to their context and the needs of those who will inhabit them. With an emphasis on considered design processes, the studio aims to deliver solutions that are both functional and aesthetically coherent. Their approach centers on a dedication to quality and a commitment to exploring the potential of each project.
Award Record
Kiyoshi Sugimoto is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2024 - 2025 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
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. It 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. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture
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
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/162815
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/162815
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!162815
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/296087
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://x.gd/zRMHA
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
- Wedge House Residence
- Function
- Residence
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Cornflower Blue, Black, Steel Blue, Silver and Dark Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Masato Ikuta
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Kiyoshi Sugimoto
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #162815
Credits
- Image Credits
- All photos and videos Hirofumi Imanishi
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The site has a nice view, but it is narrow and has a steep slope, and due to area regulations, the building coverage ratio is a strict 40%. In order to meet the required area to comply with strict regulations, we adopted a three-story mixed structure with two floors above ground made of wood and one floor below ground made of reinforced concrete. The building has a wedge-shaped shape, with the second floor, which has the best view, as the living space and the largest area, and the area decreases as you go to the lower floors to avoid applying force to the retaining wall.
- Inspiration
- The site is located at the foot of Mt.Satsuki in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The site was narrow, and more than half of the site was on a steep slope. Additionally, the site is located on an old, tall retaining wall, so the building had to be constructed in a way that would not put stress on the retaining wall. Therefore, the building's cross-sectional shape is wedge-shaped, with the basement being the smallest and increasing as the floors rise.
- Research
- Research on stable structures with protruding shapes in wooden buildings
- Challenge
- Stable structural design with an underground shape that does not apply force to old retaining walls on a narrow, steeply sloped site, and a protruding structure for the wooden upper building.
- Realization and Technology
- The east and west walls are finished with silver galvalume steel plates, which support the cantilevered floor that protrudes from the basement, and at the same time serve to frame the view to the south. The basement is a bedroom with a sense of security that feels like it's nestled on a slope. The first floor has a water area and a study with a view of the greenery of the park behind the deep eaves. From the sky terrace of the LDK on the 2nd floor, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Osaka plains. This is a house where you can enjoy the three different slopes of Mt. Satsuki.
- Operation and Interaction
- A basement with a shape that does not apply force to the old retaining wall, and a pop-out floor structure for the upper wooden building to maintain the required area.
- Project Duration and Location
- Design for the project began in September 2022 at a site in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, and was completed in June 2024.
- Specifications
- Total floor area 111.16㎡ Width 5560mm x Depth 11000mm x Height 10190mm
- Keywords
- Slopingland structure protruding structure wedge Basement mountainside
