Sakura Cyclone Mesa by Tomoaki Kageyama is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award de Plata in Diseño de Mobiliario Competition Category.

PlataMobiliario· 2025

Sakura Cyclone Mesa

by Tomoaki Kageyama

Client: Tomoaki Kageyama

A' Design Award de Plata Winner in Mobiliario Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #164534

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Sakura Cyclone Mesa

Esta es una mesa baja fabricada en madera contrachapada de cerezo moldeada, que normalmente parece un gran cerezo creciendo sobre la tierra. Por otro lado, al encender la luz, las flores de cerezo florecen en sombra y hacen brillar el espacio. Es una mesa que convierte la noche en un momento especial. La flor de cerezo es un símbolo importante en Japón. Sin embargo, las flores de cerezo florecen solo durante aproximadamente una semana al año. Esta mesa está diseñada con el brillo efímero del cerezo.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Plata

Sakura Cyclone Mesa ha ganado el A' Design Award de Plata, un reconocimiento extraordinariamente prestigioso concedido a diseños de gama alta, magníficos e impresionantes. Los ganadores de Plata son obras tremendamente brillantes y sumamente creativas que ilustran la destacada experiencia, el talento y la agudeza de sus diseñadores. Se espera que Sakura Cyclone Mesa sea una obra maravillosa y emblemática, notablemente profesional y profundamente innovadora. Este diseño ganador del A' Design Award de Plata es una invención muy notable y admirada que beneficia y hace avanzar las fronteras del arte, la ciencia, el diseño y la tecnología. Sakura Cyclone Mesa es una creación enormemente envidiada que evoca deseos, aporta sentimientos positivos y despierta asombro y admiración.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This design proposal is a low table made of molded cherry plywood. The unique point of this table is the design of the shadow that falls from the table. This table usually looks like a large cherry tree growing on the earth. On the other hand, when turning on the light, the cherry blossom blooms in a shadow and makes the space brilliant. It is a table that turns an evening into a special time.
Dimensions & Packaging: The furniture was made in a workshop in the Hida region in Japan, a famous furniture production area in Japan. The size of this table is H400 mm*D400 mm, W400mm.
Tags: Table, Cherry blossom, Sakura, shadow
Production Technology: The furniture is made of Molded plywood. Detailed mating is the key to designing accurate shadows. I created a mechanism to adjust the angle of the plywood installation with wires, allowing fine adjustment of the falling shadows.
Design Challenge: It was difficult to consider the configuration of parts to realize that only when the pendant light is turned on at night a shadow falls and cherry blossoms bloom. I created several scale models and conducted many experiments to check the shadows by turning on the lights. Then, I realized this idea using the construction method of diagonally mating R500mm curved wood.
Research: I explored the essential elements of Japaneseness in order to create a table that is uniquely Japanese. In the process, I came across the famous book “In Praise of Shadows” by the famous Japanese classic writer, Junichiro Tanizaki. Through this book, Tanizaki showed that since ancient times, Japanese people have been conscious of the shadows behind light and have found a sense of beauty in these shadows. Therefore, we designed this table based on the hypothesis that we could create essentially Japanese furniture by designing the shadows that fall from the table, which modern people are usually unaware of.
Inspiration: This table is a conceptual design in my lab. I tried to incorporate Japanese essential aesthetics into a Western furniture table.
Cherry blossom is an important symbol in Japan. But cherry blossoms bloom for only about one week of the year. Japanese people are fascinated by the momentary brilliance of cherry blossoms. I designed it with the fleeting brilliance of the Cherry blossom tree.
Project Duration: The project started in 2022 in Nagoya Japan and finished at the end of 2023.
Operation Flow: During the day, users relax with a cup of tea or a book at the table, where they can feel the warmth of the wood. At night, they can spend a special time drinking a glass of wine on the table, which becomes as brilliant as a cherry tree in full bloom thanks to the shadows cast by the room light. We envision that this table will also used in restaurants or pubs.