Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum ab Nobuaki Miyashita

Opus Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum a designatore Nobuaki Miyashita est victor maxime honoratus praemii praestigiosissimi 2026 Praemium A' Design Award Aureum in Categoria Certaminis Architectura.

AurumArchitectura· 2026

Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum

a Nobuaki Miyashita

Cliens: Higeta Shoyu Co., Ltd.

Victor praemii Praemium A' Design Award Aureum in Categoria Architectura

42,345

Victor Praemii Verificatus

Verifica Statum Praemii pro #181285

Vide apud A' Design Award Communicatum Insigne Praemii

Colores

Designum

De Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum

Aedificium Higeta est sedes principalis septem tabulatorum in Nihonbashi, Tokii, pro fabricatore liquaminis sojae iam diu constituto designata. Structura ex concreto ferro firmato involvitur transennis aluminii anodizati spatio 300 mm inter se dispositis. Anguli transennarum variantur ut sol ab austro-occidente minuatur et secretum tueatur, atque superficies agrum tritici vento motum revocat. Tectorium parietis nigrum profundum umbras confirmat atque ad fermentationem refert. Intus, atrium lucis centrale lucem diurnam in formam angustam inducit et ventilationem naturalem secundum tempora anni sustinet.

Agnitio

De Praemium A' Design Award Aureum

Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aureum, honoris amplissimi formis primi ordinis, mirabilibus et praestantibus dati. Victores Aurei sunt opera valde nova, provida et splendida, quae ingenium, sapientiam et peritiam auctorum suorum referunt. Exspectatur Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum inventum laudatissimum, inclinationes creans et monumentale fore, quod pretium inauditum afferat. Haec forma Aureo praemio victa est incepto mirabile et honoratum, quod fines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae promovet. Higeta Building Aedificium Sedis Principalis Officiorum cupiditatem vehementem excitat, studium accendit, ingenium creandi fovet et capit.

Post Designum

Fasciculus Nuntii

Merita, sodales gregis et singula technica a designatore praebita.

Proprietates Singulares: Founded in 1616, Higeta pioneered adding wheat in 1697, shaping the prototype of koikuchi soy sauce at the root of Japan's cuisine. Honored by the Edo shogunate and later recognized by the Imperial Household, its heritage is translated into architecture. This 7-story RC headquarters in Nihonbashi uses anodized aluminum louvers at 300 mm pitch, with variable angles to cut southwest sun, protect privacy, and shimmer like a wheat field over deep black walls that evoke fermentation.
Dimensiones et Involucrum: 7-story reinforced-concrete headquarters in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Site area 327.00 sqm; building area 260.32 sqm; total floor area 1,722.03 sqm. Height 29.085 m; eaves 27.720 m; floor-to-floor 3.95 m; ceiling 2.70 m. Zoning: commercial; front road width 11 m. Environmental device: anodized aluminum louver screen at 300 mm pitch with variable angles for solar control and privacy. A central light court supports daylight penetration and seasonal natural ventilation.
Notulae: Headquarters, Architecture, Environmental facade, Aluminum louvers, Solar shading, Nihonbashi, Cultural heritage, Koikuchi soy sauce, Wheat motif, Urban identity
Technologia Productionis: Facade: electrolytically colored aluminum louvers, bead-blasted then anodized, for a warm, durable sheen. Each louver is 50 mm (face) x 170 mm (depth) x 3,935 mm (height), set at 300 mm pitch with carefully varied angles. Angled plates are bolted to welded channel members for precision and cost control. Louvers continue across operable entrance doors so the facade reads as one layer. Black elastic spray coating deepens shadows and recalls fermentation richness.
Provocatio Designandi: Challenge: on a narrow, deep Nihonbashi site, create a strong symbol while cutting southwest sun and protecting privacy for adjacent housing. The facade could not be heavy or closed. Identity, comfort, and buildability were unified into one continuous louver layer, tuned in pitch and angle as a climate filter. Another challenge was cultural translation: to show global jurors that Japan's everyday taste grew from Higeta's 1697 wheat innovation. History becomes geometry, shadow, and airflow.
Investigatio: Type of Research: design research. Objective: translate Higeta's 1697 wheat innovation into facade performance and urban identity. Method: louver-angle studies and wind-inspired curvature refinement; continuity tests for joints and operable doors. Tools: BIM model and CFD airflow simulation for ventilation via the light court and operable openings. Result/Impact: a unified louver screen delivering shading, privacy, daylight, and seasonal ventilation, showing heritage can be performance.
Inspiratio: The motif is wheat, introduced by Higeta in 1697 to define koikuchi soy sauce. We made cultural memory measurable: the facade reads as a wheat field swaying in a "wind of memory" across Nihonbashi. Louver rhythm and gentle undulation were refined through computational studies so invisible forces-wind, time, and fermentation-can be felt as geometry, light, and shadow, while also delivering real shading and privacy.
Duratio Operis: Location: Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan (2-3 Nihonbashi Koami-cho). Design: Mar 2023-Dec 2023. Construction: Feb 2024-May 2025. A 7-story RC headquarters on a narrow, deep urban lot in a commercial zone, facing an 11 m road. It presents a civic-scale facade that communicates the cultural origin of koikuchi soy sauce, born from Higeta's 1697 wheat innovation.
Cursus Operationis: From the street, the headquarters reads as a single louvered surface; shifting shadows suggest wheat heads in wind. The variable-angle screen filters southwest sun and sightlines, improving comfort for occupants and neighbors. Inside, a central light court draws daylight deep into the narrow plan. Operable windows on the north/south walls and at the court enable seasonal natural ventilation, supported by BIM-based airflow simulations.
Patentes: Copyrights belong to Nobuaki Miyashita, 2025.
Agnitiones Imaginum: Image #1: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, Higeta Building, 2025.
Image #2: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, Higeta Building, 2025.
Image #3: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, Higeta Building, 2025.
Image #4: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, Higeta Building, 2025.
Image #5: Photographer Nobuaki Miyashita, Higeta Building, 2025.