Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao by Hiroshi Takahashi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award in Usanifu wa Vyombo vya Kuokea, Mezani, Kunywa na Kupikia Competition Category.
ShabaVyombo vya Jikoni· 2026
Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao
Client: Koushin Die Mold
Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award Winner in Vyombo vya Jikoni Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #175449The Design
About Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao
Com Plates ni bidhaa iliyozaliwa kutokana na mchakato wa kipekee wa utengenezaji unaotumia mbinu za usindikaji wa metali zilizoboreshwa na mafundi stadi wa vyombo vya kutengenezea kwenye mbao. Teknolojia hii inashinda changamoto za kawaida za bidhaa za mbao, kama vile uzito uliozidi na ukubwa, hivyo kufungua fursa mpya kwa vyombo vya mezani vya mbao. Kwa kusindika mbao za taka kwa usahihi wa hali ya juu, bidhaa hii inafikia unyembamba na wepesi wa ajabu. Muundo wake unaoungana kwa uzuri unaruhusu kuhifadhiwa kwa nafasi ndogo, huku pia ukitumika kama kito cha sanaa kinachovutia kinachoteka umakini katika nafasi yoyote ya kuishi.
The Recognition
About the Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award
Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao ni mshindi wa Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award, utambuzi wenye heshima kubwa unaotolewa kwa miundo bora inayotofautishwa kwa ubunifu, ustadi na busara. Washindi wa Shaba ni kazi za ufundi mwingi na bunifu ya kushangaza zinazothibitisha uzoefu mpana, mawazo na ustadi wa wabunifu wao. Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao inatarajiwa kuwa kitu kinachothaminiwa sana, kupendwa na kuenziwa, ambacho ni cha kitaalamu na bunifu kwa kiasi kikubwa. Muundo huu ulioshinda Tuzo ya Shaba ya A' Design Award unajumuisha mbinu bora katika sanaa, sayansi, usanifu na teknolojia, na ni bora kwa umakini wake kwa undani. Com Plates Vyombo vya Mezani vya Mbao hutosheleza mahitaji kwa uzuri, hugusa hamu, huvutia hisia na kuvutia udadisi.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Com Plates Wooden Tableware confronts the fundamental challenges of woodworking, achieving ultra-thin walls, ensuring dimensional stability, and maintaining high machining precision. Drawing on expertise developed in mold manufacturing, the project redefines what is technically possible with wood. Although woodworking and metalworking may appear fundamentally opposed, both disciplines ultimately share the same objective: identifying the most appropriate process for the material at hand. By setting aside conventional assumptions, the design arrives at a refined and precise form that expands the expressive and technical potential of wooden tableware.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Size is Height 170mm x Width 250mm x Length 34mm. Weight varies depending on the type of wood, but each plate weighs between 29 grams and 39 grams. This product are designed to be stacked, and even when stacked 21 high, the thickness is only 104mm.
- Tags
- tableware, wooden, very thin, ultra lightweight, compact storage, compact stacking
- Production Technology
- Many wood products were handmade or primarily processed using two dimensional machining. While 3D machining has been introduced in recent years, simply machining the material with a machine risks damage during processing unless it has a certain thickness. However, by embedding the material into a mold for machining, processing is possible not only at a thinness of 1.5mm but even at 1mm. Furthermore, surfaces precision machined through programming can be stacked with minimal gaps. This enables the creation of wooden tableware specialized for stacking, opening up a new market for wooden products.
- Design Challenge
- Using wood carving to shape blocks into extremely thin sections, rather than assembling thin boards, proved extremely difficult. Expansion and contraction vary with temperature and humidity, causing warping and cracking after processing. While some tree species are more suitable than others, finding them among scrap wood is challenging. The solution lies in creating numerous prototypes to explore the optimal processing method.
- Research
- Com Plates Wooden Tableware explores how waste wood can be transformed into a high added value material through design and advanced processing. By positioning the objects not only as functional tableware but also as collectible, art like pieces, the project broadens public interest in upcycling and material reuse. While the conventional approach has been to enhance wood by resinizing its surface, this research reverses the logic, demonstrating that wood itself can serve as the base material for products typically associated with resin or plastic, achieving comparable thinness and precision. In doing so, the project proposes an alternative material narrative that elevates discarded wood into a refined, contemporary medium.
- Inspiration
- Com Plates Wooden Tableware rethinks the limitations traditionally associated with wooden products, beginning with weight. While reducing thickness might seem like an obvious solution, conventional woodworking techniques impose clear constraints. Drawing inspiration from precision metalworking, the design achieves an ultra thin profile of just 1.5 mm, without compromising structural integrity. Thinning wood typically introduces risks such as cracking or warping, yet a proprietary processing method overcomes these challenges through heightened manufacturing precision. This same refinement also allows the plates to stack compactly, combining lightness, durability, and practicality in a quietly innovative form.
- Project Duration
- A prototype model was created in December 2023.
It was submitted to the Dfa Design for Asia Awards 2024 in June 2024.
It was submitted to the Wood Design Award 2024 in July 2024.
It received a Bronze Award at the Dfa Design for Asia Awards 2024 in September 2024.
Received the Wood Design Award 2024 in October 2024.
This project was submitted to the Hkda Global Design Awards 2025 in February 2025.
Received the Hkda Global Design Awards 2025 in March 2025.
Received the Global Top 10 Award at the Hkda Global Design Awards 2025 in April 2025.
Received the Silver Award at the New York Product Design Awards 2025 in October 2025.
Winner of the Takaoka Craft City 2025 Craft Competition in October 2025. - Operation Flow
- Com Plates utilizes waste and scrap materials. Items destined for disposal are transformed into value added products. This processing technology is not a secret; anyone can learn it. If the entire woodworking industry applies this processing technology to various products, it can reduce wood waste and contribute to preventing global warming.
- Patents
- Technology should not be hidden. It advances and improves through open sharing.
It is desirable to compete with each other's technologies without being bound by patents. - Image Credits
- The same person handles every step of the process, from product planning to design and manufacturing.
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