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Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры by Nobuaki Miyashita

Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры by Nobuaki Miyashita is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Золотая премия A' Design Award in Архитектура, строительство и проектирование конструкций Competition Category.


ЗолотаяАрхитектура· 2026

Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры

by Nobuaki Miyashita

Client: Higeta Shoyu Co., Ltd.

Золотая премия A' Design Award Winner in Архитектура Category

Colors

The Design

About Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры

Здание Higeta — семиэтажная штаб-квартира в районе Нихонбаси в Токио, спроектированная для старинного производителя соевого соуса. Железобетонный каркас обёрнут ламелями из анодированного алюминия с шагом 300 мм. Угол наклона ламелей меняется, чтобы уменьшить юго-западную инсоляцию и защитить приватность, а сама поверхность напоминает пшеничное поле, колышущееся на ветру. Глубокое чёрное покрытие стен усиливает игру теней и отсылает к процессу ферментации. Внутри центральный световой двор наполняет узкий план дневным светом и обеспечивает естественную вентиляцию в зависимости от сезона.

The Recognition

About the Золотая премия A' Design Award

Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры — лауреат Золотой премии A' Design Award, неимоверно престижного признания, присуждаемого первоклассным, восхитительным и выдающимся проектам. Обладатели Золотой премии — это чрезвычайно инновационные, провидческие и ослепительно блестящие творения, отражающие гений, мудрость и мастерство их авторов. Ожидается, что Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры станет высоко превозносимым, задающим тренды и монументальным изобретением, обеспечивающим беспрецедентную ценность. Этот проект, получивший Золотую премию A' Design Award, — впечатляющая, уважаемая работа, которая приносит большую пользу и раздвигает границы искусства, науки, дизайна и технологий. Higeta Building Административное здание штаб-квартиры вызывает сильное чувство желания, пробуждает страсть, побуждает к творчеству и завораживает нас.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
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.
Dimensions & Packaging
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.
Tags
Headquarters, Architecture, Environmental facade, Aluminum louvers, Solar shading, Nihonbashi, Cultural heritage, Koikuchi soy sauce, Wheat motif, Urban identity
Production Technology
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.
Design Challenge
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.
Research
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.
Inspiration
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.
Project Duration
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.
Operation Flow
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.
Patents
Copyrights belong to Nobuaki Miyashita, 2025.
Image Credits
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.

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