Press Release
Lawson United Cinemas Minatomirai Movie Theatres by Mitsuhiro Shinohara Wins the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Mitsuhiro Shinohara of United Cinemas acknowledged 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/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Lawson United Cinemas Minatomirai Movie Theatres by Mitsuhiro Shinohara of United Cinemas, designed for Lawson United Cinemas, inc, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The award was conferred within 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
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 Lawson United Cinemas Minatomirai Movie Theatres
Lawson United Cinemas Minatomirai is a cinema complex built inside an existing commercial building in Yokohama. The venue has 12 screens, 1050 seats and an area of 4779 square meters. The Flexound Augmented Audio system is installed in every seat, so sound reaches each viewer from the headrest. Floor area limits made separate projection rooms impossible, so the projectors are placed above the visitor corridors. Spherical lighting, colored columns and patterned walls mark the corridors. A free demonstration space near the lobby lets visitors try the audio system.
About Mitsuhiro Shinohara
Project manager of the construction facility department of teh United Cinemas. Used to work a interior design studio as designer for 4 years after graduated from a interior college, ICS College of Arts in Tokyo. Before start studying interior, have interest and study the international law at Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University. Managed the new movie theatre of UC Matsudo, renewal of UC Forte Ogawara, UC Otsu. Also managed the installation of FLEXOUND Augmented Audio to UC Aquacity Odaiba that is the very first case in Japan.
Award Record
Mitsuhiro Shinohara of United Cinemas is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2022 - 2023 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/162388
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/162388
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!162388
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/342633
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.unitedcinemas.jp/minatomirai/daily.php?date=2024
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
- Lawson United Cinemas Minatomirai Movie Theatres
- Function
- Movie Theatres
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Maroon, Midnight Blue and Dark Slate Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Lawson United Cinemas, inc
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Mitsuhiro Shinohara
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- United Cinemas
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #162388
Credits
- Team
- Kei Sagara, Hironobu Imamura, Nao Uda, Shinji Yamaguchi, Yayoi Aota and Kunihisa Akiyama
- Image Credits
- All Images: Toshiyuki Yano
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The most distinctive feature of this cinema is the installation of the Flexound Augmented Audio system in all seats. This is a world first and one of the factors that make this cinema unique. Furthermore, this cinema is unique in that it is not being installed in a new building, but in an existing facility. Due to floor-area ratio restrictions, it is not possible to build projection rooms in every theatre, so many projectors are exposed above the customer corridors.
- Inspiration
- Mark Is Minatomirai, which houses the cinema, is a commercial building directly connected to Minatomirai Station and has a wide range of customers. The aim was therefore to create a cinema that is accessible to people of all ages. In addition, a free demo space has been set up right outside the lobby entrance to allow a wide range of people to experience the FLEXOUND.
- Research
- The plan was to open a cinema complex in the Yokohama Minatomirai area, where there are already three cinema complexes with IMAX and 4DX. With restrictions on floor space and load-bearing capacity when moving into an existing commercial building, it was thought that Flexound, which has few architectural requirements and is unique in the world, would be a sufficient countermeasure. The commercial building was also very positive about attracting a cinema on the occasion of its 10-year anniversary.
- Challenge
- Floor space cannot be increased due to floor-area ratio restrictions, so the projectors were installed above the customer corridors, as if they were on display. The Flexound system requires wiring from dedicated amplifiers in the sound racks of each theatre to each chair, so wiring routes had to be secured in advance in the floating floor and wiring work had to be carried out in advance. The wiring had to be done in advance by securing the wiring route in the floating floor. The length of the speaker cables was nearly 10 km for the nearly 1000 seats in all 12 theatres.
- Realization and Technology
- The design was carried out under highly restrictive conditions due to the fact that it was an existing facility, including the reuse of an oval-shaped theatre, the largest theatre where the old tenant, a museum facility for experiencing the great nature of the earth, used to screen editorial works of the British "BBC EARTH". The cinema was realised thanks to the high storey height, but the high ceilings in the corridors of the auditorium also gave it an archaeological feel, so the lighting in the corridors was darkened as much as possible to highlight the impressive spherical lighting.
- Operation and Interaction
- Most audiences will notice the vibrations that occur in conjunction with the bass when they sit in the chairs, but the Flexound is characterised by the cinema sound that comes from the head of the chair without any discomfort at all. It sounds so natural that you may not notice it unless you know about it beforehand. However, the difference is obvious when compared to a normal chair, and you will be surprised at how clearly even the smallest whispered sounds can be heard in your ears. Surround sound is also perfectly rendered, so no matter where you are in the theatre, you will be satisfied that you are in your own special and perfect acoustic environment.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in November 2022 and the cinema opens in April 2024 in Yokohama.
- Specifications
- 12 screens, 1050 seats in total capacity, 4779sqm, Flexound Augmented Audio in all seats, Flexound technology from Finland, Construction by Taisei Corporation
- Keywords
- Cinema, Cinema Complex, Movie Theatre, Flexound, Flexound Augmented Audio, Laser Projectors, Booth-less Cinema
