Uds Ltd. Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for Soki Kanazawa Hotel in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Uds Ltd. recognized for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 21, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Soki Kanazawa Hotel by Uds Ltd., designed for Soki Kanazawa, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of 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 Bronze A' Design Award Explained

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 Soki Kanazawa Hotel

Located in Fukuromachi, Kanazawa, a place where merchants once came and went and flourished, next to Omimachi Market, known as the kitchen of the city, the hotel combines traditional Japanese beauty with modern comfort, and aims to create a place that is loved by many people and contributes to the local community. By using local materials and working with local craftspeople, the project team aims to contribute to the local economy and a sustainable city, as well as providing guests with an authentic experience while creating opportunities for them to engage with the local culture.

About Uds Ltd.

UDS is a design firm dedicated to creating sustainable, fun and lively urban spaces by pursuing an optimum balance of social responsibility and business profitability. We are a one-stop provider of business planning, architectural design, and commercial operation services, all under one roof. Whatever the use or function, every space we create is truly unique to the community it serves, and we achieve it by integrating all aspects of the physical environment.

Award Record

This recognition makes Uds Ltd. a winner of 11 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2024 - 2025 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://designers.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://designers.org/167867
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/167867
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!167867
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/301823
Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.uds-hotels.com/soki/kanazawa/

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: Soki Kanazawa Hotel
Function: Hotel
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Dim Gray, Dark Olive Green, Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Dark Gray
Images: 5
Client: Soki Kanazawa

The Recognition

Laureate: Uds Ltd.
Country: Japan
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2024 - 2025
Design ID: #167867

Credits

Team: Daiwa House Realty Mgt.Co., Ltd., DAIKEI MILLS, Keisuke Nakamura, Koki Kumagai, Masato Iwasaki, desegno Ltd., hakujitu, Kanto Iwamura, UDS Ltd., Yusaku Takahashi, UDS Ltd., Tetsuya Akaiwa, Shoya Nomoto and UDS Ltd., Kumiko Fujisawa, Mao Sawada
Image Credits: IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1 to #5:Photographer Daisuke Shima,2022

Design Details

Unique Properties: The hotel combines traditional Japanese beauty with modern comfort. By using local materials and working with local craftsmen, we aim to contribute to the local economy and a sustainable city. The minimalist design and natural materials combine to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere. The hotel aims to provide guests with an authentic experience while creating opportunities for them to engage with the local culture, and is a thoroughly environmentally conscious hotel, including reducing waste.
Inspiration: "The Bare Vessel" - feel the seasons, taste the land and savour the ingredients. A hotel where you can return to your true self and live carefree. The hotel have incorporated many local materials and items made by local craftsmen. The hotel have used "raw" materials such as wood, stone, clay and iron, and connected the different spaces with different functions with "bare" materials and gentle curves to create a single connected "vesse" that is rooted in the land and loved by many people.
Research: The project team researched the history of Kanazawa, the traditional colours of Kanazawa "Kaga Gosai", local materials, traditional construction methods of local craftsmen and seasonal delicacies. The results of this research have been used in the design to create a place that is rooted in the local community and to provide an opportunity for hotel guests to learn about the local culture. The hotel aims to create a place that is loved by many people and contributes to the local community.
Challenge: The hotel's design blends traditional Japanese aesthetics and modern technology. Its "fermentation" theme offers guests a stay that showcases the history and nature of Kanazawa. After your bath, enjoy a sweet sake brewed by a long-established Kanazawa sake producer. In the lobby, the new check-in machine with translation functions means less time and effort for guests and staff, the round table was designed to create interaction time. This blend of tradition and innovation reflects the hotel's commitment to simplicity, authenticity and nature.
Realization and Technology: From the entrance, the approach to the reception area, which has a "araidashi" tiled floor, seems to lead into a Kanazawa alley. "Araidashi" is a traditional method in Kanazawa, where stones are laid after sand is applied.The traditional colors of Kanazawa, the Kaga Gosai (indigo, carmine, ochre, grass green, ancient purple), are used to create objects that gently intersect to form the space. The reception has an indigo blue plaster wall. The plaster wall in the restaurant is inspired by ochre.
Operation and Interaction: The hotel has strong ties with the local community. Many local materials and craftsmen have been used in the interior and room furnishings. The space is composed of objects constructed with the traditional colours of Kanazawa, Kaga Gosai (indigo, rouge, ochre, grass and ancient purple), gently blending with each other. Guests can enjoy local specialities and seasonal delicacies sourced from local producers.
Project Duration and Location: The project started in Fukuromachi, Kanazawa, on 25 December 2019 and opened on 19 November 2022. The project is located in Fukuromachi, a place where merchants used to come and go and flourish, right next to the Omimachi Market, known as the "kitchen of the town".
Specifications: The hotel is an eight-storey steel-framed building with a total floor area of approximately 4,612.36 sqm. There are 130 rooms of 12 types, ranging in size from 18 sqm to 37 sqm. The hotel caters for a wide range of travellers, from solo travellers to couples, families and groups of up to four people. The public bath is equipped with the ‘‘kakeyu‘‘ baths that have been popular in Kaga Onsen since ancient times. In the restaurant, fresh vegetables, seafood and other seasonal ingredients are carefully selected to provide dishes with a sense of seasonality and local colour.
Keywords: Hotel, Design, Japan, SPA, Retreat, Traditional, Kanazawa, Locality, Ryokan, Craft