Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara Receives the Golden A' Design Award for The Westin Miyako Kyoto Chapel Renovation in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara recognized for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Golden A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for The Westin Miyako Kyoto Chapel Renovation by Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara, designed for Kintetsu Miyako Hotels International,Inc.. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 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.

What the Golden A' Design Award Means

The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.

Regarding The Westin Miyako Kyoto Chapel Renovation

Intended to express the new spirit of Kyoto, the highly original chapel is able to accommodate the increasingly diverse range of wedding styles sought by contemporary couples, including not only conventional church ceremonies but also Shinto and non-religious ceremonies. It utilized as much of the existing framework as possible, adding a wooden ceiling lattice interwoven with indirect lighting to evoke sunlight pouring through the branches of trees. The result is a sacred space imbued with traditional Japanese aesthetics and deep respect for its abundant natural surroundings.

About Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara

KATORI archi + design associates is a Japanese architectural and design studio founded by architect Takenori Katori and design director Fumi Habara. The studio offers integrated services in architecture, interior design, furniture, signage, branding, and graphic design, developing projects through a unified design vision from concept to completion. Its work is rooted in respect for history, culture, nature, and the memory of place. Rather than pursuing novelty for its own sake, the studio reinterprets Japanese aesthetics for contemporary life, creating spaces where light, materials, craftsmanship, and atmosphere come together with quiet clarity.

Award Record

This recognition makes Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

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/123145
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/123145
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!123145
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/304111
Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.katori-ada.com/works_k018.html

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: The Westin Miyako Kyoto Chapel Renovation
Function: Renovation
Category: Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline: Spatial Design
Industry: Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors: Black, Saddle Brown, Sienna, Silver and Gray
Images: 5
Client: Kintetsu Miyako Hotels International,Inc.

The Recognition

Laureate: Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara
Country: Japan
Recognition: Golden A' Design Award
Edition: 2020 - 2021
Design ID: #123145

Credits

Team: Takenori Katori and Fumi Habara
Image Credits: WMH_1.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020 WMH_2.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020 WMH_3.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020 WMH_4.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020 WMH_5.jpg:Photographer Tomohiro Sakashita, 2020

Design Details

Unique Properties: Founded 130 years ago, the Westin Miyako Kyoto is an elegant hotel with a proud history nestled into the foothills of the city’s Higashiyama district. The same elegance and quality were essential in this major renovation and earthquake retrofit of the chapel, which occupies a separate building on the hotel property. Intended to express the new spirit of Kyoto, the highly original chapel is able to accommodate the increasingly diverse range of wedding styles sought by contemporary couples, including not only conventional church ceremonies but also Shinto and non-religious ceremonies.
Inspiration: As a show of respect to the abundant natural surroundings, rock and wood take center stage in this sacred space imbued with a traditional Japanese aesthetic. we utilized as much of the existing framework as possible while also incorporating elements of traditional shrine and temple architecture, adding a wooden ceiling lattice interwoven with indirect lighting that evokes sunlight pouring through the branches of trees and highlights the beauty of the shadows and gradations that are created as light falls through the multi-layered lattice.
Research: Founded 130 years ago, the Westin Miyako Kyoto is an elegant hotel with a proud history nestled into the foothills of the city’s Higashiyama district; the present main building and Kasui-en Annex were both designed by Togo Murano and completed in 1960 and 1959 respectively. The same elegance and quality were essential in this major renovation and earthquake retrofit of the chapel, which occupies a separate building on the hotel property.
Challenge: The construction plans and specifications taking up most effort in the project is the lighting design and form and density (spacing) of the ceiling lattice, which together replicate light shining between trees, the building’s most distinctive characteristic. The wooden louvers on the walls create a sense of depth and rhythm, both tying the entire space together by linking to the ceiling lattice and ensuring the high quality, serene reverberations required in a chapel.
Realization and Technology: We strengthened the connection with the woods behind the building by redesigning the windows to remove mullions and increase transparency, as well as by shining a sunny light on the natural-stone wall in order to bring the exterior space into the interior. We valued the atmosphere created by materials themselves, expressing the contrast between delicacy and strength through the use of stained, fire-proofed cedar woods and unpolished granite from the mountains of Shodoshima.
Project Duration and Location: Location, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan Renovation Area, 237m2 The project started in April 2019 in Kyoto and finished in April, 2020
Specifications: We were asked to create a new space without altering the building’s existing framework. Because this condition ruled out the installation of skylights, we used artificial lighting to replicate the appearance of natural light. Regulations required that the wooden latticework on the ceiling and walls be semi-fireproof, so we used fire retardant lumber.
Keywords: Chapel Renovation, Chapel design,