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Good Design Awards 2009 in JAPAN [Part 1]
on 2009-12-06 (205 reads)
The underlying vitality of Japanese design shines bright for the future
The Good Design Award is a comprehensive program for the evaluation and encouragement of design and is organised by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO).The Award began in 1957, at a time when people in Japan were struggling just to put food on the table, from the notion that design was essential in breaking out of such poverty.
For the 50 years since, the Good Design Award has been given to outstanding designs, with the number of awards made having now reached around 35,000.
The Good Design Award is a program that aims to channel the eminent powers of these outstanding designs to build prosperous living and encourage sound industrial development; to enrich and brighten society through the medium of design.
In 2009, 1,034 of the 2,952 entries received Good Design Awards. Featured this month are the Grand Award and other designs of note as selected by JA NEWS.
Good Design Grand AwardIwamizawa Compound Station Building
The design of the Iwamizawa Compound Station Building demonstrates a level of quality never before seen in a JR station building. While maintaining simple, clean spaces characteristic of its location in Hokkaido, the building also manages to evoke a warmth. The glass facade is masterful, employing old tracks to take full advantage of the land's past as a kind of sacred ground of rail. Perhaps the best vindication of the design is the fact that so many local residents interact fondly with the station space.
www.love-brick.com
Massage sofa (Panasonic)
Gold Award
With a full range of massage functions, this massage machine has a compact and simple design able to fit all sorts of interiors. Care has been taken to pack these functions into the size of an ordinary sofa such that, while losing nothing in the way of performance, the final product would not appear to be a bulky massage sofa.
This design realises both a simple form in which the user can sit freely and a full range of massage functions.
http://ctlg.panasonic.jp/product/info.do?pg=04&hb=EP-MS40
Fractal shad
e (LOSFEE)Gold Award
A fractal is a geometric concept in which the individual parts resemble one another as well as the whole of the design itself. Fractals are seen in phenomena such as leaf patterns and tree branches. The natural accumulation of tree leaves dissipates heat without storing it, cooling the surrounding area by creating gentle rays of sunshine filtering through. This shade, employing the fractal concept to reproduce natural conditions using simple forms, is a design that represents a "new nature".
www.losfee.jp
Walking Assist Devices (Honda) Frontier Design Award
Honda developed these Walking Assist Devices based on ASIMO. There are two types: the
Stride Management Assist, which adjusts its user's pace and stride by providing assistance in leg movement; and the Bodyweight Support Assist, which reduces the load on its user's legs by providing assistance in supporting body weight. Despite its humble appearance, these devices give support by instantaneously obtaining information on changes in pace and posture.
http://world.honda.com/Walking-Assist
i-REAL small three-wheeled personal mobility vehicle (Toyota)Frontier Design Award
This is a single-passenger mobility solution aiming to realise both the essential human desire to go anywhere freely and coexistence of society and the Earth's environment. It makes it possible to move seamlessly from the domain of pedestrians to that of vehicles, simply by changing the vehicle's configuration. In addition, the vehicle can shift automatically to the optimal angle, enabling stable mobility. With its axle length kept to 700 mm - the same as that of a wheelchair - it can be used in wheelchair slopes and elevators.
www2.toyota.co.jp/jp/tech/p_mobility/i-real
- Good Design Awards 2009 in JAPAN [Part 2] (2009-12-28)
- Good Design Awards 2009 in JAPAN [Part 1] (2009-12-06)
- MISO - Pay your miso dealer, not your doctor! (2009-10-28)
- The most beautiful villages in Japan [Part 1] (2009-08-01)
- The most beautiful villages in Japan [Part 2] (2009-07-31)
- The most beautiful villages in Japan [Part 3] (2009-07-24)
