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Press Release

DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Toshin Takarazuka School Office by Tetsuya Matsumoto Wins the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Tetsuya Matsumoto honored for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 28, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Toshin Takarazuka School Office by Tetsuya Matsumoto, designed for Matsuo Gakuin., has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The award was conferred within the 2021 - 2022 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.

What the Bronze A' Design Award Means

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.

Regarding Toshin Takarazuka School Office

For its Second created office since the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic, the challenge Matsuo Gakuin was facing is to find a solution for protecting its office users while keeping the aesthetic values the company has always cherished. Two broken thunder shaped tables take place in the office dividing the space into staff and guest areas. glass panels were sandwiched between the board and its duplicate hanging from the ceiling. the glass panels run alternatively through parallel lines. This disposition forms a protective shield while allowing air and documents circulation.

About Tetsuya Matsumoto

Tetsuya Matsumoto is the founder and Head Architect Designer at KTX archiLAB based in Japan, and a Lecturer of a space design course at Osaka University of Art. After graduating from the same university, he specialized in commercial space design and built a large portfolio of projects varying both in type and scale, from shops and restaurants to offices and clinics, and from a small pharmacy to a large Hospital. Tetsuya has received more than a hundred local and international design awards and became a jury member for several prestigious prizes.

Award Record

Tetsuya Matsumoto is a winner of 21 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2014 - 2015 and the 2021 - 2022 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

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
Toshin Takarazuka School Office
Function
School Office
Category
Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline
Spatial Design
Industry
Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors
Dark Slate Gray, Black, Gray and Dark Olive Green
Images
5
Client
Matsuo Gakuin.

The Recognition

Laureate
Tetsuya Matsumoto
Country
Japan
Recognition
Bronze A' Design Award
Edition
2021 - 2022
Design ID
#140599

Credits

Team
Motoaki Takeuchi and Farid Ziani
Image Credits
photographer ©Stirling Elmendorf, NewNormal, 2021.

Design Details

Unique Properties
Matsuo Gakuin preparatory school needed a new office space for its reception and meeting room. However, with the COVID19 pandemic hitting worldwide, this new space must protect its users while guaranteeing an uninterrupted functionality. The space is highlighted by a broken lightning shaped boards running along the office separating it to several entities through a series of alternating glass shields, protecting from the droplets and allowing air and documents circulation.
Inspiration
This space was inspired by a multitude of solutions that have emerged in response to the global pandemic, that were put together in a way to respond to the functionality needs of the clients operational mode. The imperfections of each solution or the aesthetic value has evolved into the proposed project. All types of spaces from medical facilities to banking institutions were part of the study, that transcended the real world to step on scifi spaces.
Research
The research in this project was conducted to find out how to ensure safety in a guest receiving office space in the time of global pandemic. The goal was to find a compromise between total safety of the users and the aesthetic values that the company cheers so dearly. What are the materials to be used and what kind of atmosphere that prevents depression or paranoia in these difficult times? But also, a design that can be operational and feels normal long after the pandemic is over.
Challenge
The biggest challenge of this space was the noticeably short design period and a limited budget. This location came shortly after opening a previous one in Osaka, so the concept was kept and readjusted to fit into the space and the program. The challenge was to readjust the concept while creating a different space for a different location.
Realization and Technology
Both the counter board and its duplicate hanging down from the ceiling were made as furniture pieces, each separated and assembled onsite. The boards were finished in white veneer, and their bases in black veneer. Only the top of the counter board was finished in special antiviral melamine veneer. The glass sheets were sandwiched using slits cut on both lower and upper boards and fixed using transparent caulking on the top board.
Operation and Interaction
The counter divides the space into small entities. The guest area in the center and the staff area surrounding it. The undulation of the counter in a thunder shape creates separate subspaces that starches and its reflection on the mirror and glass makes the space look larger than it is. there is a reception counter, which is supplemented by a high counter. Then two consultation tables. The last consultation table is doubled by a video projection film for online meetings.
Project Duration and Location
Project start: December 2020. Construction start: January 2021. Project/Construction End: February 2021. Location: Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Specifications
Gross Built Area: 69sqm W12740mm x D6885mm x H2490
Keywords
Japan, office, covid, post-pandemic, virus, public, protection, shield, interior, work

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