Press Release
Merci Shop by Yuma Sato Wins the Bronze A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Yuma Sato honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Merci Shop by Yuma Sato, designed for Koto Architecture Lab Inc, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 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 assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
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.
More About Merci Shop
Merci is a plant cafe built in a rural setting between two cities. The cafe is surrounded by roads and looks out over scenic countryside views. Wooden construction methods and advanced structural calculations allow extensive open ceilings. A central open atrium brings unity to the diverse spaces and fills the interior with natural light, creating a restful place at any time of day. The flooring is made from recycled coffee grounds solidified with cement, and the outer walls use natural materials. Local ingredients are served, supporting regional circulation and the surrounding community.
About Yuma Sato
Yuma Sato is a Japanese architect. Through architectural planning and design, he proposes the creation of systems that can make everyday life happier. He designs not only homes, but also stores, offices and educational facilities, creating richness in the local community. He has also gone beyond the framework of architectural creation by hosting local market events and challenging himself to create spaces without architecture.
Award Record
This recognition makes Yuma Sato a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture
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/172637
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/172637
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!172637
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/368435
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.kotolab.design/
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
- Merci Shop
- Function
- Shop
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dark Gray, Powder Blue, Dark Olive Green, Dark Slate Gray and Black
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Koto Architecture Lab Inc
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Yuma Sato
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #172637
Credits
- Team
- sen ko home
- Image Credits
- photo:Iku Asanuma
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This is a plant cafe where you can enjoy scenic rural views. It values nature and utilizes its facility surrounded by roads to create a space filled with natural light, making it a relaxing environment at any time of the day. The open atrium brings unity to the diverse spaces. Additionally, we focus on using more natural materials to create a sophisticated atmosphere.
- Inspiration
- The idea was to build a peaceful structure in the countryside that connects the two cities. Amidst the aging population and depopulation, it was crucial to support the local cycle and create a landscape loved by the community.
- Research
- In this architecture, the most important thing is a space for creating a new and nostalgic future that blends in with the community. We aimed for a space that maximizes the goodness of the area while being able to design for the future.
- Realization and Technology
- The building was constructed using wooden construction methods. Advanced structural calculations were employed, making extensive use of open ceilings. The finishing materials included flooring made from recycled products of coffee grounds solidified with cement, and the outer walls used natural materials, resulting in a sustainable building.
- Operation and Interaction
- This building is a cafe open to the local community, and a space that aims to promote local circulation. It aims to be an indigenous land that uses local ingredients. It also has an eye on inbound tourism, as a place where people can enjoy sightseeing at traditional Japanese facilities that are a tourist resource for the region.
- Project Duration and Location
- We will continue to expand, starting with Okayama City in 2024. We aim to open multiple stores in the future.
- Keywords
- cafe,regional circulation, nature,universality, coexistence
