Press Release
Nobuaki Miyashita Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Embraced in Recycled Steel Office in Architectural Lighting
Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio recognized for architectural lighting by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Embraced in Recycled Steel Office by Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio, designed for Kyoei Steel Ltd, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Architectural Lighting category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined 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.
The Silver A' Design Award Explained
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Embraced in Recycled Steel Office
Embraced in Recycled Steel is an architectural lighting design for an office building in Yamaguchi, Japan. Billet-shaped seamless LED fixtures are embedded within steel louvers, creating a rhythm of light across the recycled steel surfaces. Lighting patterns inspired by barcodes and QR codes are placed through the interior and shift in appearance as people move. A control system adjusts brightness in response to daylight conditions. The design highlights the texture of recycled steel while providing comfortable illumination for daily work.
About Mr Studio
An architectural firm based in Japan that designs various types of buildings, including residential homes, commercial facilities, hotels, offices, factories, and schools.
Award Record
With this recognition, Nobuaki Miyashita of Mr Studio is a winner of 8 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2023 - 2024 to 2024 - 2025 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Architectural Lighting Design Award
The A' Architectural Lighting Design Award is an international lighting design competition recognizing good lighting designs by lighting designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural lighting designers, lighting consultants, industrial design studios and interior designers from all countries. Entries typically include architectural lighting, architectural illumination, architecture lighting projects, architectural light projections and landscape illumination. Awarded architectural lighting designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architectural-lighting
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/171529
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/171529
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!171529
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/353711
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.mrstudio.biz
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
- Embraced in Recycled Steel Office
- Function
- Office
- Category
- Architectural Lighting
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Gray, Light Slate Gray and Dim Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Kyoei Steel Ltd
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Nobuaki Miyashita
- Country
- Japan
- Brand
- Mr Studio
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #171529
Credits
- Image Credits
- Image #1,#2 : Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita Variations, 2024 Image #3,#4,#5 : Photographer Sato Kenta, Variations, 2024.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This lighting design transforms Kyoei Steel’s industrial identity into a refined architectural experience, emphasizing the interplay of recycled steel and light. Billet-shaped seamless LED fixtures embedded in steel louvers create a luminous rhythm, enhancing the material’s structural and textural qualities. Barcode and QR code-inspired lighting compositions connect digital branding with the environment, reinforcing the company's commitment to sustainability and innovation.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the recycling process of steel and Kyoei Steel’s corporate identity, the lighting design evokes the transformation of raw materials into high-quality products. The barcode and QR code-inspired light patterns symbolize digital connectivity and sustainable manufacturing. The seamless integration of billet-shaped LED fixtures within steel structures enhances the spatial rhythm, creating an immersive and futuristic work environment.
- Research
- Type of Research: Applied Lighting Design Research Objective: To explore innovative lighting strategies that enhance the aesthetics and functionality of recycled steel. Methodology: Light modeling, material interaction analysis, and human perception studies. Data Collection: Experimental prototyping and user behavior analysis. Participants: Lighting designers, architects, and material specialists. Results & Insights: The research demonstrated how integrated lighting enhances both industrial material aesthetics and workplace functionality, influencing sustainable lighting solutions in architectural design.
- Challenge
- The challenge was integrating seamless lighting into industrial steel structures without compromising the raw material’s authenticity. Developing billet-shaped LED fixtures that maintained a minimalist form while providing effective illumination required extensive prototyping. Regulatory compliance, thermal management, and ensuring harmony between structural elements and lighting patterns were additional hurdles that necessitated iterative design refinements.
- Realization and Technology
- The lighting system incorporates billet-shaped seamless LED fixtures precisely embedded within steel louvers. These lights are designed to blend with the raw aesthetic of recycled steel while enhancing spatial depth and visual continuity. Advanced lighting control systems allow for dynamic brightness adjustments, ensuring optimal illumination that adapts to natural daylight conditions. The result is a harmonious integration of technology and materiality, elevating both functional and aesthetic qualities.
- Operation and Interaction
- The lighting design not only enhances the aesthetic qualities of recycled steel but also guides users through the space by creating a layered visual experience. The illuminated barcode and QR code motifs subtly interact with movement, shifting perspectives as users navigate the office. The interplay between artificial and natural light fosters a dynamic atmosphere that transforms throughout the day, reinforcing the concept of continuous material renewal.
- Project Duration and Location
- The lighting design project commenced in early 2022 in Yamaguchi, Japan, as part of Kyoei Steel’s office renovation. The design and implementation phases extended through early 2024, integrating advanced lighting technologies with recycled steel structures to create a visually compelling and sustainable workspace.
- Specifications
- Site Area: 108,045.44 Square meters Building Area: 1,091.12 Square meters Total Floor Area: 3,931.89 Square meters Structure: RC Number of Floors: 4 above ground Maximum Height: 19.9 m Eaves Height: 16.5 m Floor Height: 3.9 m Ceiling Height: 2.9 m
- Keywords
- architecture, office, lighting design, recycled steel, sustainable design
