Press Release
Takanao Todo Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Through the Looking Prism Light Art Installation in Lighting Projects and Light Art Design
Takanao Todo honored for lighting projects and light art design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Lighting Projects and Light Art Design category for Through the Looking Prism Light Art Installation by Takanao Todo, designed for Takanao Todo Design. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
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 Through the Looking Prism Light Art Installation
Prism glass wall reflect and refract existing urban panorama of the Chao Phraya River, one of the representative Bangkok's scenery. The structure made with 300 pieces of glass prisms supported by sand blast finish stainless steel offers alternative perspective with its prism light. There is no additional lighting in the structure not only minimizes energy consumption while serves as a critique of light pollution in current urban setting. The installation is a testament to the boundless possibilities of light art installation has been displayed in Asia-wide with its easy assembly system.
About Takanao Todo
Takanao Todo is an architectural designer, ceramicist, lecturer and educator for supporting dyslexia in Japanese. His major contribution in design is realization of "total work of art" via seamless integration from object, furniture, space and to the level of operation, while applying conceptual approach enabling to share the latent narrative to wider audiences. He is challenging how Japanese tea culture can evolve outside of Japan through design also. He integrates both local and digital craft in his design for more human centric design.
Award Record
With this recognition, Takanao Todo is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2023 - 2024 and the 2024 - 2025 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Lighting Projects and Light Art Design Award
The A' Lighting Project Design Award is an international lighting design competition recognizing outstanding lighting designs by lighting designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to lighting project designers, lighting architects, industrial design studios and lighting product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include light art, light installations, street lighting, light sculptures, light projections and landscape lighting. The awarded light art designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/lighting-projects
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/171239
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/171239
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!171239
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/348135
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://takanao00.wixsite.com/takanaotododesign/through-the-
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
- Through the Looking Prism Light Art Installation
- Function
- Light Art Installation
- Category
- Lighting Projects and Light Art Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Arts
- Colors
- Black, Sienna, Dark Slate Gray, Rosy Brown and Tan
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Takanao Todo Design
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Takanao Todo
- Country
- Thailand
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #171239
Credits
- Image Credits
- Swita Uancharoenkul
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Prism glass reflect and refract unique urban panorama of Bangkok offering alternative perspective with its prism light. The absence of additional lighting not only minimizes energy consumption but also serves as a poignant critique of light pollution prevalent in modern urban settings. The installation is a testament to the boundless possibilities of light art installation.
- Inspiration
- Rejecting the conventional use of additional lighting sources, while showcase the transformative power of light in shaping the urban landscape, both in day and night. The heart of this installation is a window adorned with a glass prism wall, meticulously designed to capture and refract the myriad hues of Bangkok's nocturnal charm. Situated along the iconic Chao Phraya River, the structure offers a mesmerizing interplay of light and shadow, capturing the essence of the city's vibrant energy.
- Research
- This design research project examines the optical performance of the glass prism. This research commenced by investigating experimental works using prism as a material to manipulate optical phenomena, light refraction and reflection. Although glass is a building material that offers transparency in architectural design, prism glass hardly ever became a common type of glass due to its unorthodox form. The research stems from earlier investigations and designs using prism materials, aiming to exploit their unique optical effects while making construction methods more affordable and practical.
- Challenge
- The first prototype was made with adhesive connection, which made it difficult to relocate the structure. The detail developed to become mechanical connection, made it easier to replace the glass prism when needed. And this solves the issue about maintenance for cleaning as it is easier to clean while removing glass pieces. One of the challenge was to meet the cost of the glass prism. It was impossible to make custom made piece to fit within a reasonable range of the budget. Mass-produced glass prism for scientific experimentation was used for the construction. Glass prism had several cracks with the direct sunlight exposure.
- Realization and Technology
- This installation consists of 300 pieces of glass prisms supported by a sandblast-finished stainless steel frame. Each glass prism follows the large-size commercial glass prism, 30mm x 30mm X 150mm. They are fixed to the frame with a wedge supported with an adhesive connection. The height of the frame is 1900 mm in height and 2000mm in width, which is portable by the truck, and able to be carried and assembled by the labor. Self-weight helps to stabilize the installation, which is resistant to the wind.
- Operation and Interaction
- It is a stand alone structure. At the different time of the day, both natural and artificial light get reflect and refracted through the glass prisms. The structure was placed carefully to cover typical panorama of the Chao Phraya River where represents Bangkok well. Minimizing the artificial light within the site to maximize the incoming light from the other side of the river. Height of the structure made from 2000mm to 1900mm to accommodate average audience eye height.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project displayed as a part of the Bangkok Design Week in Jan 2024 in Rajinee Pier in Bangkok, and relocated to the Pahurat Flower Market.
- Specifications
- Stainless Steel with sand blast finish, 150mm x 20mm x 20mm glass prism, Width 2000mm Depth 200mm x Height 1900mm
- Keywords
- Prism, Light, Refraction, Chao Phraya River, Installation, Bangkok, Reflection, Glass Prism
