Press Release
Kasuga Mochi Japanese Sweets Cafe by Shunsuke Ohe Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Shunsuke Ohe recognized for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 21, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Kasuga Mochi Japanese Sweets Cafe by Shunsuke Ohe has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 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.
About Kasuga Mochi Japanese Sweets Cafe
Kasuga Mochi is a Japanese confectionery cafe in Osaka, Japan, created for a company with more than 80 years of history. The narrow urban building is given a clear identity by a white exterior with vertical wooden latticework. Inside, the walls and ceilings show the fine horizontal grain of wood, and white is combined with wood tones, soft green, and coral orange. All built-in furniture, including benches, tables, and counters, was custom designed. The layout controls circulation and sightlines to keep the compact space calm and welcoming.
About Shunsuke Ohe
CEO and founder of LUSTYdesign Inc. From a young age, he developed an interest in architecture and interior design, formally commencing his studies in both fields at the age of fifteen. He undertakes architectural design, interior design, and interior coordination for hotels, residences, retail spaces, offices, and showrooms. His designs are guided by the theme of ‘inspiring the human heart’.
Award Record
With this recognition, Shunsuke Ohe is a winner of 20 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2025 - 2026 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/183560
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183560
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183560
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/296080
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://lusty-design.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
- Kasuga Mochi Japanese Sweets Cafe
- Function
- Japanese Sweets Cafe
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Peru, Rosy Brown, Dark Gray, Sienna and Yellow Green
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Shunsuke Ohe
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #183560
Credits
- Image Credits
- NANA TAJIMA by ToLoLo studio
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Whilst traditional Japanese confectionery is a delicate expression of Japanese culture, the image of formality and tradition can sometimes take precedence, creating a psychological barrier for younger generations, male customers and those visiting alone. This project sought to carefully break down these invisible barriers and explore a concept for an open and welcoming traditional Japanese confectionery cafe where anyone, regardless of age or gender, can drop in without feeling intimidated.
- Inspiration
- Kasuga Mochi is a Japanese confectionery cafe launched by a client company with a history spanning over 80 years. For this long established confectionery shop, the challenge lay in creating a new space that, whilst upholding tradition, would naturally appeal to generations who had previously had little connection with traditional Japanese confectionery, as well as to people with different motivations for visiting.
- Research
- The project reinterprets a narrow urban building with limited frontage as a vertical landmark with a clear identity. A predominantly white exterior creates a crisp facade, while vertical wooden latticework and warm materials bring softness and harmony to the streetscape. Inside, white is paired with wood tones, soft green, and coral orange to evoke the lightness and familiarity of Japanese confectionery. Rather than expressing tradition literally, the design presents it through an abstract language suited to contemporary urban life.
- Challenge
- Kasuga Mochi balances visual clarity with spatial comfort. Rather than maximising seating, the layout carefully controls circulation, sightlines, waiting areas, and spacing to reduce overlaps in movement and maintain a calm atmosphere within a compact footprint. By reinterpreting tradition through a contemporary lens, the project connects the history and future of a long established confectionery business while making wagashi culture feel more open, familiar, and accessible.
- Realization and Technology
- Roof : galvalume steel plate / Eaves : silicate calcium board , metal panel / Exterior walls : ceramic siding, metal panel / Exterior flooring : porcelain tile / Interior ceiling : wood , wall paper / Interior wall : wall paper / Interior flooring : pvc tile
- Operation and Interaction
- One of the project’s defining features is the design of the walls and ceilings, which highlights the delicate horizontal grain of the wood. These elements create depth, rhythm, and a quiet sense of unity throughout the space. All built in furniture was custom designed for the project, and every element, including benches, tables, counters, and planting, was carefully coordinated to express the identity of Kasuga Mochi. The interior was conceived as an integrated whole, giving spatial form to the brand experience.
- Project Duration and Location
- Project Duration : From August 2023 to July 2025 Project location : Osaka(Japan)
- Specifications
- Site area : 54.4 sqm / Total floor area : 102.6 sqm / Category : Japanese sweets cafe
- Keywords
- wood , tile , flooring , eaves , white , cafe , coral pink , green , Japanese , LUSTYdesign , Shunsuke Ohe
