Press Release
Nobuaki Miyashita Is Honored with the Silver A' Design Award for Tokumitsu Taanto Public Restroom in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio honored 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/ Tokumitsu Taanto Public Restroom by Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio, designed for Life Housing Co., Ltd., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to 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 scored 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.
More About Tokumitsu Taanto Public Restroom
Tokumitsu Taanto is a public restroom interior located in Hakusan, Ishikawa, Japan. The room covers 25 square meters and has a ceiling height of 2.90 meters. More than 3,000 gold leaf tiles cover the walls. Each tile is a 200 millimeter square porcelain tile with a textured surface, finished with hand-applied Kanazawa gold leaf. The tiles are set against a dark background, and indirect lighting is arranged to reveal the reflective quality of the gold. The design applies a traditional Japanese craft to a contemporary public space.
About Mr Studio
An architectural firm based in Japan that designs various types of buildings, including residential homes, commercial facilities, hotels, offices, factories, and schools.
Award Record
This recognition makes Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio a winner of 9 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' 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. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Typical entries include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. The awarded interior designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/interior
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/171577
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/171577
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!171577
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/353711
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.mrstudio.biz
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
- Tokumitsu Taanto Public Restroom
- Function
- Public Restroom
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Black, Saddle Brown, Goldenrod, Maroon and Peru
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Life Housing Co., Ltd.,
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Nobuaki Miyashita
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- Mr Studio
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #171577
Credits
- Image Credits
- Image #1,#2,#3,#4,#5: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, 2021
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Golden Restroom at Hakusan Gateway Tokumitsu TaanTo is a one-of-a-kind interior space featuring Kanazawa gold leaf, a traditional Japanese craft. Over 3,000 gold leaf tiles adorn the walls, shifting in appearance with changing light. Set against a dark backdrop, indirect lighting accentuates the golden glow, creating a surreal experience akin to a luminous chamber floating in space.
- Inspiration
- English: The core inspiration of this project is to transform the beauty of Kanazawa gold leaf, a symbol of Kaga culture, into a contemporary spatial experience. The golden enclosure is designed to immerse visitors in the profound artistry of traditional craftsmanship. The interplay of gold's sheen and shadows evolves with time, creating a mesmerizing atmosphere.
- Research
- English: Type of Research: Interior design study Objective: Exploring the potential of traditional craftsmanship in spatial design Methodology: Analysis of gold leaf’s light reflection properties, lighting simulations Data Collection: Reflectivity measurements, visitor sensory evaluations Results: Creation of an immersive design using gold leaf Impact: Introducing new applications for Japanese traditional crafts
- Challenge
- The greatest challenge was crafting a space that maximizes the texture of gold leaf while maintaining a refined and immersive ambiance. Detailed studies of light angles and reflectivity were conducted to create a lighting design that showcases gold at its most mesmerizing.
- Realization and Technology
- The gold leaf tiles are crafted using the UNESCO-listed Hand-Applied Gold Leaf technique. Each 200mm square porcelain tile features textured surfaces enhanced by meticulously applied gold leaf, creating depth and richness. The lighting design is strategically planned to maximize gold’s reflective qualities, enveloping the space in a serene, ethereal glow.
- Operation and Interaction
- The restroom offers visitors an immersive experience enveloped in golden radiance. Indirect lighting dynamically alters the expression of the gold leaf, transforming the space into a living artwork of light and shadow. Users feel as if they have stepped into an art installation, elevating a routine activity into an extraordinary encounter.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project is located in Hakusan, Ishikawa, Japan, and was completed in April 2021.
- Specifications
- Room area: 25 square meters Ceiling height: 2.90m
- Keywords
- interior design, gold leaf, luxury restroom, Kanazawa, cultural heritage, immersive experience
