Press Release
Harmony Cultural Learning Space by Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design Wins the A' Design Award in Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design of MisoSoupDesign honored for cultural heritage and culture industry 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 Harmony Cultural Learning Space by Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design of MisoSoupDesign has been granted the A' Design Award in the Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design category. 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 evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding Harmony Cultural Learning Space
Harmony is a cultural learning space created inside a historic tea factory at National Kuan Hsi Senior High School in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The school was founded in 1924 with an agricultural focus. The renovated area covers 352 square meters. Flexible and modular planning, interdisciplinary collaboration zones, and immersive digital media support situational teaching. Old tea processing equipment and the preserved tea throwing opening are transformed into artistic installations. Reusing old equipment and furniture reduces waste and joins historical texture with modern design.
About Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design
Daisuke Nagatomo graduated from Meiji University in Tokyo, and decided to pursue his passion of architecture at Columbia University, where he received master degree in advanced architectural design. Nagatomo began his career in the metropolitan New York area with architecture firms, including TEN Arquitectos and Design Office for Research and Architecture. He was the invited researcher for FabLab House project at IaaC, Barcelona from 2009 to 2010 where he holds research diploma. Nagatomo is currently the assistant professor of National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan as well as adjunct faculty member of Tokyo Denki University.
About MisoSoupDesign
MisoSoupDesign is Japan / Taiwan based Design Studio led by Daisuke Nagatomo and Minnie Jan.
Award Record
Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design of MisoSoupDesign is a winner of 35 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2011 - 2012 and the 2024 - 2025 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design Award
The A' Cultural Heritage Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good designs that preserve, protect, and promote cultural heritage. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to cultural heritage designers, culture industry professionals, cultural heritage specialists and museum designers from all countries. Typical entries include cultural heritage projects, cultural conversation, preservation and restoration and protection projects. The awarded cultural heritage designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/cultural-heritage
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/167713
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/167713
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!167713
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/112232
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.yenarch.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
- Harmony Cultural Learning Space
- Function
- Cultural Learning Space
- Category
- Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts and Social Impact
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Black, Gray and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yen Partnership and Miso Soup Design
- Country
- Taiwan (China)
- Brand
- MisoSoupDesign
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #167713
Credits
- Team
- Joe Lin and Yenling Chen
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- National Kuan Hsi Senior High School was founded in 1924, originally named "Taiwan Public Kuan Hsi Agricultural Supplementary School," and was renamed in 2003. The school was established with an agricultural focus, bearing the responsibility of cultivating agricultural talent and promoting local industry development.
- Inspiration
- The design strategy emphasizes "situational teaching," utilizing flexible spatial planning, interdisciplinary collaboration zones, and immersive digital media to meet diverse learning needs and enhance students' practical skills and problem-solving abilities. Spatial design highlights diversity and modularity, allowing learning modules to be adjusted according to different subject requirements and teaching scenarios.
- Research
- The spatial design continues the historical narrative, inspiring learners to reflect on the connection between tradition and modernity, deepening cultural identity, and strengthening the link between learning and practice. The tea factory serves not only as a vessel for learning but also as an open and diverse space where students can innovate and explore their potential. Through the fusion of historical and modern design elements, the campus embodies a spirit of continuous learning and sustainable development, ensuring that Kuan Hsi Senior High School continues to carry forward the value of tea culture into the next century.
- Challenge
- The historical and cultural value of the space must be assessed to determine whether old objects or textures can effectively tell the historical story of the factory. Such elements may be preserved to allow new users to experience the historical atmosphere of the space. For example, old tea-processing equipment can become visual focal points or nostalgic symbols, engaging in dialogue with new design elements. The preserved tea-throwing opening has been transformed into an artistic installation.
- Realization and Technology
- In terms of preserving historical and cultural heritage, the design focuses on retaining historical textures by transforming old tea-processing equipment into artistic installations, serving as visual focal points. A careful balance is struck between historical textures and modern design language to avoid visual conflict, creating harmony between tradition and innovation. Furthermore, environmental sustainability is considered by reusing old equipment and furniture, reducing resource waste, and giving these elements new value and purpose.
- Operation and Interaction
- 2.The balance between aesthetics and visual harmony must be carefully considered. The potential conflict or fusion between old textures and modern design styles requires thoughtful decisions. Designers assess whether old elements might clash with new ones visually and make adjustments as needed. For instance, outlines or traces of old objects might be preserved and integrated with modern clean lines and contemporary design language.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in October 2023 in Hsinchu, Taiwan and completed in November 2024.
- Specifications
- Total floor area: 352 square meter
- Keywords
- Classroom, Renovation, Architecture, Design Movement
