The 2019 Good Design Grand Prize winners will be selected soon. The Good Design Award is a Japanese design award that aims to improve our lives and society. The scope of coverage is extremely wide, including products, architecture, software, systems, and services.

The Good Design Award considers anything that people have built to fulfill some ideal or purpose, regardless of its physical form, to be judged as design. In the first part, Premium Japan picked out seven of the 2019 Good Design Best 100 in the field of space and place.

designed a new resort
Art biotope “Mizoniwa” and Hakone box

1. Botanical Garden Art Biotope “Water Garden”
A water garden was created over the course of four years at Botanical Garden Art Biotope, a resort in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. The design was by architect Junya Ishigami. The space has been carefully calculated to consist of 318 trees and 160 biotopes (ponds) of various sizes. One of the design points is ``By creating nature artificially, we provide space and time to experience nature as an extension of our living space and to hone our five senses.''

Although it looks like nature was originally there, it was actually transplanted from 318 trees that were scheduled to be felled, and was built using water intake methods and water volume adjustment techniques that were used in rice field sluice gates. The moss on the ground around it was also transplanted from a nearby forest. The beautiful scenery is maintained through proper management. This was praised by the Good Design Award judges as ``the spirit that has been passed down to Japanese gardens, and is extremely Japanese.''

2. Lifestyle hotel with bookstore function “Hakonebako”
An accidental encounter with a book. Hakonebako was born from a project aimed at creating and rebuilding a new "place for encounters with diverse knowledge" that is necessary in these modern times. The facility is a planned and renovated sanatorium owned by Nippon Publishing Sales, and is a book hotel that functions as a bookstore where all 1 books are available for purchase.

During the 20 hours you stay in the extraordinary space of a hotel, you will be able to encounter various knowledge in a multifaceted and organic manner. A variety of projects are being developed, such as ``That Person's Bookcase,'' which provides insight into the thoughts and structure of people who are active on the front lines of various fields. Jiyujin is in charge of everything from planning and general supervision to facility operation. The direction of the book is handled by ``YOURS BOOK STORE,'' a BOOK direction brand sold by Nippon Publishing. Takuro Someya will serve as the book director.

3. Seibu Railway Limited Express Vehicle “Laview”
Aiming to be a new vehicle that has never been seen before, the new limited express vehicle ``Laview'' was produced as Seibu Railway's next-generation flagship train. The design concept is an express train that gently blends into the scenery of cities and nature, an express train that feels like a living room where everyone can relax, and an express train that creates new value and serves as a destination rather than a means of transportation.

The design was completed through repeated trial and error, including an unprecedented spherical design for the front of the vehicle, a new painting method, and windows enlarged to the limit allowed by the vehicle's strength. Aiming for a cohesive living room-like space, the seats, curtains, carpet, and lighting were all newly developed, and the windows were arranged so that every seat could enjoy the scenery. The design was supervised by Kazuyo Sejima. Cooperative design advisors include Yoko Ando (textiles), Shozo Toyohisa (lighting), and Sumitaka Tanase (design & graphics).

4. Car ferry “Cruise Ferry Sea Paseo”
Sea Paseo is the first new passenger ferry built in about 30 years for the route connecting the three ports of Hiroshima, Kure, and Matsuyama. It was developed with the design concept of ``a mobile park for everyone to enjoy traveling around the Seto Inland Sea,'' with the aim of supporting the lives of local people while providing travelers with an unforgettable experience of the Seto Inland Sea. Three zoning settings and 11 types of distinctive seat designs were created for the passenger seats on board, creating a diverse and flexible space configuration.

In addition to turning the stern seats and outdoor terrace seats, which were traditionally not popular, into spaces where you can experience the unique charm of ships, we are also taking advanced initiatives such as universal compatibility. Also, I would like to pay attention to the design that accommodates the increase in the number of people transported during emergencies. The opinions of customers and service workers obtained through interviews and workshops are reflected in the design.

Designing new shapes for offices and clinics.
Attempts to utilize natural assets that have finished their role

5. Service “Camping Office”
Work style and workplace design proposed by Snow Peak Business Solutions. This service provides workplaces using tents and tarps in a variety of spaces, including inside offices, urban green areas, and the great outdoors. By incorporating the elements of camp into the workplace, the aim is to realize corporate innovation, organizational revitalization, and work style reform.

Snow Peak's social mission is to ``restore humanity by connecting people with nature, and between people,'' and they believe that ``recovering humanity'' is what is needed of people who do not camp. ing. The judges commented that the idea of ​​merging the office and camping, which have unrelated or contradictory images, makes people smile. 200 companies have already experienced this service, and the number is likely to expand further in the future.

6. Distillery “MITOSAYA Herb Garden Distillery”
MITOSAYA Herb Garden Distillery was created by renovating a public herb garden in Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture, which closed in 2015. Distilled spirits and products are made here using a variety of fruit trees and plants. The site area is over 1 square meters. While growing more than 5000 types of medicinal plants, we are working every day to turn small discoveries from nature into reality.

It was discovered that combining the functions necessary for a distillery with the existing facilities would fit perfectly, and a business proposal was made. Minimal partitions have been added to the existing building for each process, and each process can be observed through the windows in the doors that extend in each direction in the front room. The judges focused on the fact that the natural assets of the medicinal herb garden, which had finished its role, were put to use in a progressive manner and became a place to create and disseminate new culture and products.

7. Clinic “Kagayaki Lodge”
Kagayaki Lodge is a home medical care clinic located in Ginan Town, Hashima District, Gifu Prefecture. The company building is characterized by having areas that do not function as a clinic, such as a living room, open kitchen, accommodation room, training room, and seating area. Through various activities held in this building called a lodge, we help people recover from poor health and achieve new health.

Only a quarter of the building's space is needed for business purposes. The purpose of the facility is to create a place for people from 100 to over 180 years old to meet, develop, educate, and give gifts to future generations.While maintaining connections with the local community, various events are also held. There is. The review praised the facility for providing people with an opportunity to think about home medical care as a point of contact with local residents. The facility regularly hosts events such as the ``Children's Community Cafeteria,'' ``Walking Club,'' and ``Study Sessions and Social Gatherings,'' which are attended by XNUMX people. It is a place that supports not only physical health but also ``new health'' that includes connections and a sense of purpose.

Unlike when the Good Design Award was first created, design now requires a more complex perspective due to factors such as an aging society, the advent of the Internet, and disaster countermeasures. Under these circumstances, the role that design plays in society seems to be becoming more important. In the second part, we will pick up notable works in 2019 from products that are more closely related to daily life.

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[Good Design Award Schedule]
10/31
Grand prize selection event (along with award celebration), special award announcement
13:30-16:30 Live broadcast of award celebration & grand prize selection (from Grand Hyatt Tokyo)
13:30-14:30 Good Design Award voting reception (voting by visitors to winning stores)
Voting venue: Tokyo Midtown (Area A Midtown Hall B special stage)
Around 15:00 Good Design Award Announcement
18:30-19:00 Special Award Press Presentation

[Good Design Award winning exhibition “GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2019”]
Date: October 10st (Thursday) - November 31th (Monday)
11:00-20:00 Last day until 18:00 / Entrance until 30 minutes before closing
Venue: Various locations in Tokyo Midtown (9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Register
http://archive.g-mark.org/gde/2019/index.html

→Continue to 2019 Good Design Best 100 (Part XNUMX)